Many the Miles
by ncisabbylover
Summary: Kensi and Deeks have been in a bit of an awkward, grey place in their relationship the past few months. When Kensi's blood work for her routine physical comes back with unexpected results she has to start making some hard decisions about how she wants to live her life and what affect she will allow it to have over her partnership with Deeks.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on. I'll buy you breakfast." Deeks offered Kensi as they packed their things. Sam and Callen were getting debriefed in ops after their most recent undercover mission. The whole team had been working through the night.

"I don't know, I'm pretty tired Deeks." She'd only managed about six hours sleep in the past two days.

"Well you can't go to bed on an empty stomach." He countered. Ever since he'd returned her father's knife it had been a little tense, a little awkward, but every so slowly they were finding their way back to comfortable.

Kensi had just opened her mouth to accept his offer when her cell rang shrilly from her pocket. She didn't recognise the number. Deeks eyed her as she spoke.

"Kensi Blye." She paused while the person on the other line spoke.

"Ah, yeah sure." Her brow furrowed. "As in right now? Yeah no, I can do that. I'll ah, I'll be there in thirty minutes. Thanks." She hung up and turned to face her partner. "Sorry, gonna have to rain check."

"Everything okay?" He inquired.

"Ah, I think so. I'll let you know." She smiled. "I gotta go." She grabbed her messenger bag and fled the mission.

* * *

><p>Her left leg bounced up and down nervously as she sat in the sterile waiting room. She was surprised when the doctor's office had called her back in after her routine physical last week. According to the receptionist there was something in her blood work that was odd and it was preferable for her to come in as soon as possible. It was important. At first she assumed it was just a vitamin deficiency, god knows she'd had them before, but the longer she sat and waited the more her mind started to wander. The pamphlets and posters dotted around the blue walls weren't helping either. She checked her watch and was about to head up to the desk to find out how much longer she'd have to wait when Dr. Murphy's head appeared and called her in.<p>

She took a seat across from him, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees as he pulled up her records on the computer.

"Now, Miss Blye, I just had a few question regarding the blood work we did last week. How've you been feeling lately?"

"Fine. No different than normal." She shrugged, smiling at him.

"No vomiting, cramps, anything like that?" He queried.

"No. Nothing."

"And what about your cycle? Is everything on track there?"

"Well, no but that's not unusual. I have a high stress job and sometimes I miss a month every now and then. Is my iron low? I know that I sometimes skip a month if drops."

"No, no your iron is fine." He removed his glasses and folded his hands on his desk. "When was the last time you had intercourse?"

"Ah…" Kensi stammered, flashes of STD pamphlets whizzed through her mind. "About two months ago I think."

"And did you use protection? The pill, a condom?"

"I'm on the pill." She asserted. "Is everything okay? My last sexual partner doesn't have any history of STD's that I know of."

"You don't have an STD. Miss Blye, your blood tests from last week showed human chorionic gonadotropin in your system."

"Okay, and what is that?" She chuckled nervously.

"Miss Blye, you're pregnant."

Kensi's eyes bulged.

"Sorry, there must be some mistake. That's not possible." She was shaking her head emphatically.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, that would mean that I'm at least two months -. I… I have no symptoms. No morning sickness, I haven't gained any weight. Nothing's changed." She tried to defend.

"Some women don't show any signs of pregnancy until they start to physically show. I ran the tests twice Miss Blye, you are most definitely pregnant." He assured her.

"Pregnant." She rolled the word around in her mouth. "I… I'm pregnant?" Her hands drifted down to her still-flat stomach before she hastily brought them back up in front of her.

"Do you have an gynaecologist you see regularly?" Kensi shook her head. "Well we have one attached to this practice and I do believe she has a few times free today. We can get you in to see her and get an ultrasound done, make sure everything's going okay." She continued to stare at him, almost blankly. "Unless, would you like to talk about your options Miss Blye?"

"Op…options?"

"It's not too late to terminate." He assured her.

"Terminate. As in… oh."

"It's not a decision to be made lightly but it's an avenue available to you."

"Ah, I don't have to decide right now do I?" She furrowed her brow.

"Absolutely not. How about we book you in for a prenatal appointment and go from there." He suggested. Kensi nodded dumbly at him, her mind still rapid firing thoughts so fast she couldn't even catch them.

"Prenatal appointment. Today?"

"Well, seeing as you were unaware of the pregnancy or even the chance you could be pregnant I would recommend making the appointment as soon as possible to make sure you and the baby are both healthy." He said the words slowly, noting her obvious distress.

"Ah, yeah okay. Today." She affirmed, nodding her head more to herself then him. Her eyes darted up to meet the doctors. "Pregnant?" Her face scrunched in disbelief.

"Yes." He affirmed patiently. "Now, let's see what we can book you in for." He smiled.

The next two hours were a true out of body experience for Kensi. She vaguely remembered being asked question after question concerning her health, her cycle, her lifestyle habits. The questions started to query about past family medical histories of both the mother and father she honestly didn't have answers for most of them. She was then poked and prodded with needles for various blood tests before being asked to remove her pants and put her legs in the stirrups for a pelvic exam. She was asked to pee in a cup, which she did, and then they laid her down again to perform an ultra sound.

It's the only thing she remembered clearly from the whole ordeal, the ba-dump ba-dump of a steadily beating heart and the tiny dot the technician pointed out on the screen.

"You're about 10 weeks along." The woman said, all smiles and kind eyes as she wiped blue goop off Kensi's stomach. "We'll schedule you in for another appointment in four weeks time if you like. Unless you have another doctor in mind."

"Ah, no, I don't." Her mouth was dry as she spoke, her own heart pounding still. "Is, is that all?"

"For now. We'll run all your tests and if something comes up we'll give you a call. Otherwise, just head on out to the front desk and make an appointment for a months time. Will you be bringing the father along?"

"I… I don't know." She stammered.

"Not to worry. I'll see you in for weeks Miss Blye."

Kensi nodded and sat up, pulling her shirt as far down as it would go as she stood, leaving the room.

She sat in her car outside the clinic for a full twenty minutes. Her brain had not stopped turning since the doctor had told her the news. Taking a deep breath she all but rammed the key into the ignition, starting the car and pulling out of the lot.

She drove around for a long time, thinking, processing, trying to figure out her next move. Eventually she pulled up outside a familiar house and, still in a haze, she walked up to the door and knocked without thinking.

Someone muffled an 'I'm coming.' From inside before the door was pulled open.

"Kensi, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you but…"

"Can I come in?" Her voice was soft, timid, nothing like her usual assertive self.

"Of course."

**A/N: Firstly, HUGE thanks to violetdoodlebug whose drabbles about a Densi pregnancy inspired this fic. I spent three hours last night outlining this story. I have 14 chapters worth of material but there may be slightly more or slightly less depending on my need to combine chapter ideas or extra chapter ideas thanks to random bursts of inspiration.**

**I'm really excited about this and I hope you guys are too.**

**Endless thanks to all those who reviewed my last two Densi fics and who followed me on Tumblr. I look forward to sharing this story with you!**

**Finally, if anyone would like to volunteer to make a cover for this fic I would be eternally grateful because I don't have the software with me to do it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Julia ushered her daughter inside and watched as Kensi made a beeline for the couch.

"Can I get you anything?" She offered.

"No thanks." Kensi paused a beat. "Is there any history of hereditary disease in our family?" She blurted out.

"Ah, no." Julia replied, confused but willing to play along. She took a seat across from Kensi.

"Good. That's good. What about cancer?"

"No, no cancer. Kens, honey, what's going on."

Kensi sighed and stood up, taking to pacing back and forth the length of the room, wringing her hands and searching for words.

"My doctor called me today. I had a physical for work last week, remember?" Julia nodded. "Well apparently there was something in my blood work that caught their eye and they ran a few more tests and…" Kensi stopped her pacing suddenly. Tilting her head towards the ceiling she brought her hands up to cover her face and took a deep breath.

Julia was off her seat and by her daughter's side in an instant. Cautiously she placed a hand on Kensi's shoulder.

"Kensi, you're starting to scare me. What did the doctor say?"

Slowly Kensi removed her hands from her face and turned towards her mother. She reached out and took Julia's hands in her own, closing her eyes as she spoke next.

"Mom, I'm pregnant." The words still felt foreign on her tongue. It wasn't until Julia was running a hand over Kensi's head requesting that she look at her that Kensi realised she still had her eyes closed.

Julia guided Kensi to the couch and sat her down, wrapping an arm around her daughter.

"Kens, baby, who's the father?"

Despite the tears beginning to well in her eyes the incredulous look she shot her mother had clear meaning.

"Does Marty know?" Julia had Kensi's hand and was rubbing soothing circles on the back of her palm as she shook her head.

"I only found out today." She took a deep, unsteady breath before leaning onto her mother's shoulder. "What am I going to do Mom? I'm not cut out to be a parent. My job, my lifestyle, I don't know that I can do this." A sob broke forth from her mouth and suddenly she was crying.

Julia pulled her down, laying her daughter's head in her lap and stroking her hair like she had when Kensi was a child.

"You're going to figure this out baby girl." She soothed. "There are so many options for you these days Kensi. Did the doctor talk to you about any of it?"

"I heard the heartbeat." She mumbled the words into her mom's leg. "I don't want to get rid of it. I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm so confused. And tired. I'm so so tired. I don't want to think about it anymore right now." She sat up and wiped at her tears with the back of her hands. "Can I stay in the spare room?"

"Of course honey. Have you eaten?" Kensi shook her head. "Well, let's get some food in you then you can head up and have a sleep." Julia stood form the couch and pulled Kensi up with her. She took her daughter's face in her hands. "No matter what, I love you and I believe in you. You are so stubborn, you always have been. You can do anything you set your mind to. Remember that." Kensi nodded weakly and pulled her mother into a tight hug before following her into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Kensi lay in bed staring at the ceiling of her mother's spare room at six the next morning. She'd had some lunch and napped for a few hours before getting up and watching some sappy romantic comedy with her mother. She'd gone back to bed pretty much straight after and had slept for a solid eight hours. The full nights sleep had offered her mind some time to process and, although she was still unsure of how this was all going to work, she knew she wanted to keep the baby, the little life growing inside of her. She hadn't fully come to terms with the concept yet but she'd accepted it and that was at least a start.<p>

She blinked slowly and checked her phone. She had a missed call and a few messages from Deeks.

_Just wanted to make sure everything is okay. Let me know._

_I have Die Hard on DVD and Yummy Yummy Heart Attack on speed dial. Wanna join me?_

_Kensi?_

_Okay. Could you just let me know you're alright. _

She knew she should probably reply even if it was just to let him know she was okay but she couldn't find the emotional energy to type the words out.

He was a good man. She knew that. He'd been so great supporting her and giving her space after everything that had happened in Afghanistan. They'd been spending a lot of time watching movies with take out and beers but also like before, both were steadfastly ignoring their 'thing' as though no time had passed. Kensi had been in no shape to talk about it just after she'd returned from the desert and by some unspoken agreement they had let the events that transpired before she left fall by the wayside until she was whole again.

That first day back at work she felt powerful, strong, like she was her old self and she had invited herself to Deeks' apartment fully intent on finally having _the talk_ with him. But, when he had opened the door shirtless she'd gotten distracted. Before she had fully thought through her actions her lips were fused to his and her legs were wrapped around his waist as stumbled them through the apartment to the bedroom.

She'd woken up the next morning in his arms. He'd roused as she extracted herself from his grasp and she'd kissed him gently, telling him she was going home to get changed and that she'd see him at work.

She'd come in to him opening letters with her father's knife, they'd bantered — their usual back and forth — and he'd asked her about her plans for the night. She thought, for a split second, that maybe they could get their shit together finally and talk it out and then Eric had whistled from he top of the stairs and their conversation was once again put on hold.

Then during the case something Angelo had spouted off had struck a chord with him. There was something going on that he wasn't sharing. She'd pushed through his awkwardness once the case was done though and he'd given back the knife. They weren't over. Nothing had even started yet. But he was asking for a bit more time and although she'd been disappointed, she'd given it to him.

She placed her hands on her stomach, closing her eyes. God only knew where this would leave them. It was another roadblock in their path. Opening her eyes and looking at the phone she scrolled through the messages again, pondering what she could possibly reply. Eventually she gave up, locking the phone and getting out of bed, heading down to the kitchen.

"Morning Kensi." Julia greeted from where she sat at the dining table, coffee in one hand, newspaper spread before her.

"Morning Mom. Is there any coffee left?" She asked as she stuck her head into her mother's fridge in search of something quick and easy to eat.

"Kens, honey, you probably shouldn't be having coffee at the moment."

Kensi slumped forward, holding herself up with the refrigerator door. "Oh god." She murmured, closing the door and grabbing an apple off the bench instead. "This is going to kill me."

Julia chuckled. "So you're feeling better about it this morning?"

Kensi chewed her mouthful of apple before answering.

"Yeah. A bit. I mean, I'm going to keep it. That's about all I know."

"That's a perfectly okay place to be. Take it day by day." Julia agreed.

"I think I'm going to head home and get changed, go into work."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should call in, take the day off." Her mother suggested.

Kensi shook her head. "No. I need to be at work. Take my mind off it for a little while."

Julia eyed her with concern. "Okay." She stood to walk her daughter to the door. "Keep me up to date, alright baby girl? Call me when you've told Marty."

Kensi nodded. "I'll call you in the next few days. I love you Mom."

"I love you too Kensi."

* * *

><p>Deeks was probably staring. He knew he was but he couldn't quite bring himself to stop. Kensi had come into work, sat at her desk and gotten stuck into her paperwork without so much as a hello in his direction. Every now and then she'd look up and turn her head in the direction of Hetty's desk before going straight back to her computer.<p>

He'd tried to draw her out, teasing her about the lack of coffee with her donut that morning but she'd brushed him off. When Callen and Sam headed to the gym he'd approached her desk, sitting on the edge of it.

"Everything okay?" He'd asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You never replied to my messages last night." He'd shrugged, trying to pretend he was unfazed but she'd probably seen right through him.

"Sorry. I had an appointment then I went to my Mom's and crashed. I didn't really check my phone until this morning on my way to work."

He'd nodded along as she explained herself before quickly going back to her typing. He'd sighed.

"Well, you know where I am." He had pushed himself up and off her desk and was about to make his way back to his own when she'd spoken.

"I do know. Thank you." She'd thrown a weak smile at him which he'd returned before getting back to work himself.

That was a few hours ago and she hadn't said anything since. He was about to offer to go out and grab some lunch when Eric's telltale whistle sounded from the top of the stairs.

Sam and Callen were already in ops when Kensi and Deeks arrived and Hetty began briefing them as soon as the pair had crossed the threshold. There'd been a bombing on a navel base. It looked like it was the third in a series of terrorist acts across several naval bases in America.

"Mr. Hanna and Mr. Callen, you two will go interview the surviving victim at the hospital." Hetty instructed.

"Got it." The pair replied in unison walking out the door.

"Miss Blye and Mr. Deeks you two will take the crime scene."

"Ah, Hetty, actually, I have to talk to you about something." Kensi's words stopped Deeks in his tracks. He'd already started to make his way out the door.

"Is it important Miss Blye?"

"Extremely." Kensi answered. She could feel Deeks' questioning gaze on her but she refused to look at him, keeping her eyes on Hetty instead.

"Very well. Miss Jones, you will accompany Mr. Deeks into the field."

Deeks moved to object but Hetty held up her hand to stop him. "You're burning daylight Mr. Deeks. Best be on your way."

* * *

><p>"Have a seat Miss Blye." Hetty gestured to the chair across from her desk and Kensi sat. "What's so important?"<p>

"Hetty, I um…" She hated this part. It was awkward and unnatural. She took a deep breath and pushed the words past her lips. "Hetty, I'm pregnant."

"I see." The woman had a good poker face but Kensi could've sworn she'd seen shock register, if only for a millisecond. "And I take it Mr. Deeks is unaware of his impending fatherhood."

"How'd you… Never mind. No, I haven't told Deeks yet."

"Well Miss Blye, you'll be on modified assignments from here on. You'll stay out of the field unless it is certain that there is no treat. You'll be able to do some interviews and some interrogations provided the suspect is not volatile." Hetty outlined.

"Okay."

"Your team will be curious as to what's going on, your partner especially. I highly recommend you talk to him sooner rather than later."

Kensi nodded. "I plan to." She took that as her cue to go back to her desk.

"Oh, and Miss Blye?" Hetty stopped her. "Congratulations." She smiled.

"Thanks." Kensi smiled back softly before returning to her work station.

* * *

><p>For once the case was reasonably open and shut, a rarity for the Office of Special Projects. The explosion had been from a navy brat trying to scare his father into moving back to their previous base where his girlfriend was. The kid had underestimated the size of the blast and it had taken two casualties and left one survivor.<p>

Sam was heading home for the night to put his daughter to bed and Callen had humbly bragged about a date.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow partner." Deeks had already slung his bag over his shoulder and was making his way out.

"Wait! Deeks!" Kensi called after him. He stopped in his tracks and turned on one foot.

"Yessum?"

"Can I buy you a drink?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Wow! You guys never cease to amaze me! In less than 2 days I got 73 followers and a whopping 21 reviews! **

**I'm half way through chapter three at the moment (it's driving me crazy because I keep going back and forth between writing that and working on a script and the I mess up the tenses) so that should be finished soon. And then come chapter four is when we'll really start getting into this whole pregnancy thing. **

**Originally I wasn't going to upload this chapter until Sunday night but after such an overwhelming response I decided to upload it once I reached 20 reviews so you can thank mama's-broken-heart for jumping in with review number 20! **

**Thanks so much to every who reviewed. They are so encouraging, especially when I'm having moments of doubt. The following people are rad: Somesgirl, tita, Marta Kensi Deeks, Joy, DreamingIce, bookdiva, Tessa, Lovingthem, Hoosier65, Rach, Twisted Musalih, NavyStrong42099, Sweetlilloz, JenRar, lovedanniruah, Brookels82, Kyra73, mama's-broken-heart, Lara Leitao, and the two guests!**

**Also, all the amazing people who added me on tumblr! You pushed me up past 100 followers and I'm just stoked. **

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

She'd barely looked up at him in the past ten minutes, her eyes focussed on her fidgeting fingers, her beer untouched.

"So ah, about yesterday." Deeks finally broke the silence, pushing forward into the awkward void.

Kensi looked up at him briefly but didn't say anything in response.

"I know we've been a bit on and off lately but you know you can talk to me. I like to joke and tease but I can be serious too. We're partners. I've got your back." He said, reaching a hand across the table to touch hers.

"This was a mistake." She drew her hand back and clenched her fists. "I can't be here." She stood, tension pouring off her in waves.

"Sorry, what?" Deeks asked confused.

"This beer, the bar. I can't be here. I've gotta go outside." She was half way across the room before Deeks could say another word.

He threw a few bills down on their table and hurriedly followed her out the door. There was no sign of her in the parking lot but her SRX sat silent and empty in the same space she'd parked it twenty minutes earlier.

He moved further out into the night until he could make out her figure sitting doubled over on a park bench. He jogged to her and gently laid a hand on her back when he reached her. She didn't flinch at his touch but he could feel her unsteady breathing.

"Kens, you gotta tell me what's going on here." He all but begged.

"I…" She heaved in a breath. "I'm trying I just, I don't know that I can." She confessed.

Her shaky breathing was starting to give way to sobs that brought him flashbacks of Afghanistan. He dropped to his knees in front of her, rubbing his hands on the back of her calves, trying to sooth her.

"Kensi, you're starting to scare me."

"You're scared?" She choked out a sarcastic laugh. "You're scared? I'm terrified! I can'd do this. I'm not cut out for it. I can't even remember the things I can't have. I invited you to a bar! What the hell was I thinking?!"

She stood up from the bench leaving Deeks crouched in front of nothing and began to pace the sidewalk.

"I mean I haven't even thought this through. I haven't gotten the medications and vitamins the doctor told me to get. I almost drank coffee this morning and I've been drinking coffee every morning! And alcohol! I've been drinking beers with you on our nights off! How could you let me do that? This was not how I pictured any of this!" She continued to ramble to herself as she paced.

"Kensi, you need to back up a little for me."

She stopped pacing and turned to face him.

"This is not how I imagined this going." She said, finally looking him in the face.

"Not how you imagined what going?" He asked, taking a few steps towards her.

"I need to talk to you."

"So talk to me Kens. Partners, remember?"

She stood silent for a long moment, her gaze wandering from the sidewalk, to his face, to the beach a few yards away.

"Do you remember the promise you made me before Afghanistan?" The sudden change in topic threw him for a moment as he though back and nodded. "I need you to remember that promise right now cause this is not going how I thought it would and I just need..."

"Wanna walk?" He suggested, gesturing with his head to the sand that was spread before them.

She nodded, toeing off her shoes before placing a hand on his arm for balance as she brought each foot up to take off her socks. Deeks quickly shucked his socks and shoes too before following her out onto the sand.

They walked in silence, letting the sound of the waves crashing against the shore fill the empty space between them. They'd made it close to a quarter of a mile when Kensi finally spoke.

"I'm pregnant." It was barely more than a murmur but Deeks heard it all the same, stopping in his tracks even as Kensi kept wandering forward a few more steps before stopping herself, dropping down into the sand.

Deeks took two steps and dropped down next to her.

"Wow." He puffed.

"Yeah." She agreed, both of them looking out to the ocean.

"When did you find out?" He queries.

"Yesterday."

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye, his head bobbing up and down seemingly of it's own accord as the news washed over him.

"When did… I mean, how far along?"

"I thought I was more memorable than that." Kensi tried to joke but it fell flat.

"No. I know _when_ I just meant, when are you due? How long?" He clarified.

"January twelve. The doctor said I'm about ten weeks."

His head was still nodding.

"That's a lot to process." He blew out another puff of air.

"Tell me about it."

"So should we, I don't know, move in together or something?" His head finally stopped it's up and down motion and he turned to face her.

"What?" Her head snapped round to look at him.

"I mean, that's what people do right?"

"Deeks, this isn't the 1960's." She half joked.

"I know. If it was the 1960's I would be asking you to marry me."

Kensi's eyes bulged at his words.

"We're so close to a relationship Kens, maybe this is what we needed to take that final step." He suggested.

"Deeks, no. That's not how this works. Jumping headlong into this without thinking is not the answer." She argued.

"Well, what is then?"

"I don't know." She turned to look back at the ocean.

"Well that's helpful." He scoffed.

"Deeks, I'm not moving in with you. We've never even been on a real date!" Her voice was slowly getting louder.

"So what? You're just going to do it all on your own? Cut me out? Now's not the time to be stubborn."

"I never said that! I'm not trying to stubborn. I'm trying to be practical!" She was yelling now. She could see Deeks about to come back at her with a heated retort but she held her palm up, closing her hand into a fist both to stop him from talking and to release some of the tension and anger that was starting to fill her.

"Listen, Deeks, I'm not cutting you out of anything and this is big news, I get it. Believe me, I _really _get it but we need to be sensible and think these things through. You need time to process. Hell, I need time to process. I'm still trying to figure out my head and my life and my own body. I've put in for a few days leave, gonna try and come to terms with it and figure out what this means for me, for us. Give it a few days, sort yourself out too, then call me. We'll figure it out. You just have to keep your promise and I'll keep mine."

"What promise is that?" He'd calmed down again, slumping over a little and drawing patterns in the sand with his finger.

"Be patient with me and I'll get better at talking about our thing."

He cocked his head to look at her, a tight smile gracing his lips.

"We'll figure this out." He said, stretching his hand out to her.

"Yeah, we will." She squeezed his hand before letting it drop, moving to stand up. "You gonna head home?"

"I think I'm just gonna sit here for a while."

* * *

><p>Sam and Callen walked side by side into the bullpen the next morning to find Deeks already at his desk, concentrating hard on the files in front of him.<p>

"Oh, no. This can't be good." Callen gestured his head towards Deeks as the partners stopped at the top of the bullpen.

Sam shared a look with Callen before moving to sit behind his desk.

"Look at this Callen. He actually looks like he's working. Something fishy's going on." Sam spun his chair so he was facing Deeks. "Spill it."

The man in question shrugged. "Just wanted to get a head start on some stuff." He tried to brush it off, not lifting his head from his work.

"Uh huh." Callen sounded anything but convinced. "So, where's your partner?"

He made a point to finish the paragraph he was reading before closing the file with a flourish and looking over at the Callen.

"Said she was taking a few days."

"She's not being reassigned again is she? I don't think I can do another four months of mopey Deeks." Callen ribbed.

"No, she's just taking a few days. That's all." Deeks repeated.

"Oh, trouble in paradise?" Sam teased.

"She said she needed some time to get a few things done. I didn't push."

"_You_ didn't push? You push everything. What's really going on here?" Callen prodded.

Deeks shrugged.

"I don't know."

"He knows." Sam directed his comment at Callen.

"He certainly knows. Why do you think he's not telling us?" Callen replied.

"Probably sworn to secrecy. I'd be scared of invoking the wrath of Kensi too." Sam rallied.

"So if it was my secret and Deeks was asking?"

"You don't scare me G. And Deeks is annoying as hell."

"So you'd sell me out just to get him off your back?" Callen asked incredulously.

"I didn't say that." Sam retaliated.

Deeks had taken to ignoring them again and had opened his laptop and was currently scrolling through his favourite online surf store when something caught his eye. He was just filling in the last of his credit card details when Eric whistled.

"Case on deck."

Deeks quickly typed a request into the special instructions section before hitting the confirmation button, sending his purchase through and following Sam and Callen up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Kensi had gone to breakfast with her mother that morning before following into the pharmacy to get the various pills the doctor had listed. Julia had then proceeded to drag Kensi into a clothing store, pointing out the frilly dresses and tiny tutus in the baby section. The whole trip had made her stomach clench, her anxiety skyrocketing, overwhelming her once again. Just the prospect of buying tiny clothes to dress a tiny human who would be her responsibility sent flashes across her mind: a crying infant she couldn't soothe, a screaming child in a princess costume she couldn't calm, a rebellious teen she couldn't control. But the pure excitement on her mother's face had made it impossible for her not to go along with it.<p>

She'd all but fallen through her front door at three that afternoon wanting nothing more than to collapse on her couch with a snack and some bad reality television, ignoring the life growing in her stomach that was currently turning her world upside down. She'd just taken her shoes off and dumped the bag of supplements in her bathroom when a knock sounded from the front door.

With a groan of frustration she stormed to the door, flinging it open with enough aggression to startle the young courier on the other side.

"Ah, Kensi Blye?" The young man stuttered.

"Yes?"

"I've got a package here for you, if you could just, ah, sign here?" He handed over an electronic pad.

"I didn't order anything." She said, taking the stylus and signing her name regardless.

The courier shrugged and handed over the package.

"Have a great day ma'am."

"Thanks." She mumbled back, taking the box and closing the door. She stared at it, noting the logo on the label, it was familiar but she was certain she hadn't ordered anything recently.

She threw the box gently onto the coffee table, heading into the kitchen to grab a bag of Doritos and a bottle of water before returning to the living room. She dumped her snacks onto the table, turned on the TV, and picked the box up again, peeling back the tape that secured the lid.

She bypassed the folded card on top and pulled back the packing paper to reveal a pair of tiny black Chuck Taylors. With careful hands she pulled the shoes out of their box and let them sit on the palm of her hand. She stared at them, examining them from every angle before picking up the folded card and reading the typed message.

_If you've shown me anything during our partnership it's that you're capable of everything you set your stubborn mind to. You've got this Fern. You're going to be an amazing Mom._

_You're not in this alone. You and me. Baby steps. _

_Xx_

The earlier images of uncooperative children were suddenly replaced happier ones: her tickling a giggling infant, a toddler holding her hand and learning to walk, a three year old riding on strong shoulders as a family of three walked along the sand.

She put the shoes on the coffee table next to her forgotten chips and pulled out her phone. She typed a quick message before laying back on the couch and resting her hands on her stomach, noticing for the first time the imperceptible bump forming there.

"I'll make you a deal kid. You be nice to me and I promise to buy you whatever you want. Okay? We've got this." She murmured to her stomach.

* * *

><p>Deeks' phone buzzed as they pulled up to the warehouse, the team decked out in vests and assault riffles, fully equipped to storm the place. Quickly he pulled it out and checked the text.<p>

_Baby steps. _

_X_

He grinned widely, staring at his phone.

"Deeks!" Sam's voice broke through his cloud of thought. "You ready?"

The grin dropped and his face became serious again as he locked his phone and put it back in his vest.

"Let's do this."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, once again you guys blew me away with your love and reviews and follows! There are so many of you! Thank you so much!**

**Extra special thanks to the amazing people who took the time to leave me a review on the last chapter: CoastalReader, bookdiva, guesswhofern, Loz, Marta Kensi Deeks, tita, kaaw, AliyahNCIS, Magnum, Heather9979, Joy, Siena, JenRar, Melissa, RookieBlueGirl, Aneeeta, Hally, MontyTheDog, Rach, zats, Anonymous, Kyra73, Hoosier65, and the three Guests. Also to wanna-be-bold for the short note on tumblr too!**

**I love reading your comments and critiques and to all of you who review every chapter and/or every story I love to look at your reviews and go, yay! they liked this one too! It makes me feel kinda like I know my audience a bit and that's awesome. **

**See you all next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is dedicated to a very special little girl who didn't get the time she deserved on this earth.**

**Happy 1st birthday precious Hannah**

**Jan 29 2014 - Oct 22 2014**

* * *

><p>This was why she very rarely took time off work unless she was going on a vacation. It made her feel obligated to tidy. After dozing in front of the TV for a few hours she finally pulled herself up from the couch and began to clean. She'd filled two plastic bags with empty take out containers and food wrappers from around the house before putting on a load of laundry and pulling out the vacuum. She could admit she wasn't the tidiest person around, she never had been, but when she started to clean it often became obsessive, she had to do it all and it had to be done in one go. Between the noise of the vacuum and the techno music she had coming from her phone several knocks on her front door fell on deaf ears. She was on the other side of the house, finishing off the bedroom, when her phone switched from her Spotify playlist to Deeks' ringtone.<p>

Quickly turning off the the vacuum she ran, grabbing the phone just before it rung out.

"Hey." She was slightly out of breath as she answered.

"Hey. What are you doing in there? I've been knocking on the door for like ten minutes. Come let me in. I brought food." Deeks' voice came through the line.

"One sec."

Kensi looked down at what she was wearing — yoga pants with a hole in the knee, an oversized t-shirt, no bra — and figured he'd seen her worse off. Strolling over to the doorway she hung up the phone and swung the door open, standing aside so Deeks could come in.

He shuffled past her and into the kitchen, both his arms weighed down with enough food to feed at least ten people.

"Are we having a party I don't know about?" She queried as she followed after him.

"No, I just, with the pregnancy. I mean, I've heard that some foods can make you feel sick and there are other foods you can't even eat so I just got a bit of everything." He replied, pulling cartons out of bags that now adorned her once clean countertop. "I like what you've done with the place. I mean, I can actually see the kitchen counter. I'm very impressed."

"Thanks." Kensi rolled her eyes. "And actually, food hasn't really been a problem for me. Neither has morning sickness actually."

Deeks looked up at her.

"That's good." He replied before pulling out the last container. "What do you feel like? I've got tacos, Chinese, Thai, burgers, pizza, or _bulgogi_." He shimmied as he finished the list.

"Deeks?" Her brow furrowed in concern.

"Yeah." He looked up at her, eyes wide and lips pursed in attention.

"What happened to your face?"

"Puberty was very gracious to me." He grinned, popping a piece of chicken from the Chinese container into his mouth. "I was hit with the pretty stick."

"You were hit with something." Kensi replied back with a smirk before turning serious again. "Really, what happened?"

There was a lump still forming on Deeks' forehead and his right eye was beginning to turn a stunning shade of purple. Kensi also noticed a strip of white gauze peaking out from underneath the sleeve of his shirt.

"Ah, yeah. That." He reached up and tentatively touched the bruise, wincing as he did so. "There was a raid today. I got clocked, got a bit of a gash too. Sam and Callen had my back though. We took 'em down." He explained.

Kensi approached him and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt revealing a square of gauze, about five inches long, wrapping around his bicep. She touched it gently but it was clean and no blood was leaking through.

"The EMTs patched me up pretty good." He looked down at her. She glanced up to meet his eyes for a moment before she rolled his sleeve down and tapped him on the arm, gesturing for him to move out of the way.

"Grab a beer from the fridge, go sit on the couch. We're watching Titanic. I'll come in with some food in a minute." She instructed, beginning to physically push him out of the way when he didn't move.

"Grab a beer. Put it on your eye. Go. Sit." She repeated.

"Kensi, you can't have beer." He shifted slightly away from the food but didn't move to follow her instructions.

"Yeah, I got that memo. Doesn't mean you can't. I still have a six pack in my fridge. Someone's gotta drink 'em, it might as well be you. Now go! I promise to save some of the food for you." This time she bumped him with his hip in the direction of the fridge.

"Kensi," He started again. She could see the next protest forming on his lips but she interrupted him before he could even start to get it out.

"I swear to god Deeks, pregnant or not, I will kick your ass if you don't just grab a beer and sit on the couch. This is what partners do Deeks. This is what _we _do. I'm pregnant, I'm not an invalid and if you try to treat me as anything other than completely capable we're going to have a problem. Got it?" She had her hands on her hips, head cocked to the side, eyes daring him to challenge her on this.

"Got it. Beer. Titanic. You'll bring food."

"Good. Go. Do." Kensi pushed his uninjured arm before turning and pulling plates from the dishwasher she'd just run as Deeks followed her instructions.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes into the film their plates were clear and Deeks moved to place his now empty beer bottle on the coffee table in front of him.<p>

"Go grab another one." Kensi suggested to him from where she was sitting on the other side of the couch.

"I'm good. I was thinking, we should probably talk." He said it somewhat nervously.

"Probably." Kensi agreed waiting for the end of the current scene to pause the movie. She turned to face him on the couch, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Okay, so lets talk." Deeks turned to face her from his side of the couch, curling one leg in front of him.

"Okay." Kensi replied followed by silence.

"You know, when people say they're going to talk it usually involves, well, talking." Deeks joked. Kensi smiled lightly.

"I don't really know where to start."

"Let's start with you. Where's your head at with this?" Deeks questioned.

"Do we have to start with me?" Kensi winced, only half joking, before she sighed. "I'm good, I think. I mean, I'm keeping it, obviously, and there were a few moments today when I wasn't completely terrified of the prospect of a tiny human growing in my uterus that, after I have pushed it out of my body, I will then have to care for for the next 18 years. So that's progress I think."

Deeks smirked. "Yeah, that's progress." He agreed. "What about, us, our thing?"

"It's your turn now." Kensi shook her head. "You've gotta tell me where you're at."

"I'm, am I allowed to be happy? Because I'm kind of happy."

"You're allowed to be happy Deeks." She assured with a smile.

"I'm kinda terrified too but yeah, I'm happy. I mean obviously this was not exactly how I pictured having a kid to be but, I like kids." He shrugged.

"My turn again?" She asked, her tone clearly indicated she hoped it wasn't. Deeks nodded. "Us…" She mulled, "Why do we have to always make things so complicated Deeks?" She leaned her head back and looked at the ceiling. "A baby doesn't instantly mean a relationship, ya know? I still want to get there with you Deeks but…"

"We're only half way across this damn lake." Deeks finished for her. "But we'll get there in our own time."

"Exactly. There's no set of rules for this and even if it was, since when do we follow rules?" She pulled her head up to look at him.

"True." He laughed.

There were a few beats of awkward silence between the pair.

"Can we go back to the movie now?" Kensi pleaded.

"Go ahead." He rolled his eyes at her and she pressed play. A few minutes later Deeks spoke again, interrupting Kensi as she mouthed along to dialogue on screen. "Kens?"

She turned to face him, not bothering to press pause this time.

"Can I ask you on a date?" He nervously ran his hand through his hair as he asked.

Kensi considered him for a moment.

"I don't know. _Can _you?" She smirked. She eyed him for a moment watching as he planned his retort in his mind. When he took too long to reply Kensi's focus turned back to the screen.

"Saturday night. I'll pick you up at 8pm. Wear something nice." He stated a few minutes later. Kensi turned to look at him but he was intently looking at the screen.

"Apparently you can't _ask_." Kensi grinned at him. She turned her eyes back to the television. "It's a date." She murmured a few seconds later, extending her legs and pushing her toes under Deeks' thigh to keep them warm.

* * *

><p>As the credits rolled on screen it was pushing 11. Deeks looked over at Kensi's sleeping form. She'd dozed off around an hour ago but Deeks had decided to leave her be and finish the movie. Now though, he needed to go home and he knew from experience that her couch wasn't the most comfortable mattress .<p>

He stood and stretched before turning off the TV and clearing off the coffee table. He then returned to where Kensi had further spread out since his evacuation from the couch.

"Kens, you need to go to bed." He whispered close to her ear, a hand on her upper arm.

"Shhhh, sleeping." She mumbled back, swatting at him. He grinned.

"Come on, let's go." This time he pulled at her arm, and she woke slightly, standing up and following him as he walked her to her room. She was slightly more awake once they'd made it to her bedroom door.

"You got it from here?" He asked.

"Yeah." She mumbled back sleepily waving him off.

"Okay, I'll lock the door on my way out. See you at work?"

"Thursday." She replied, opening her bedroom door and beginning to shuffle in.

"See you Thursday Fern." He grinned as she grunted something back, waving a hand at him again before all but falling into her bed.

* * *

><p>When Kensi arrived at the mission on Thursday it was eerily quiet. Sam, Callen, and Deeks' bags were all on the desk but the team was not in sight. Dumping her own bag on her desk Kensi did a quick reconnaissance of the mission, checking the gym and the firing range before heading up to ops.<p>

She found the team as the doors opened, the three men on the big screen through a security camera feed.

"Kensi, what are you doing here?" Nell was the first to notice her.

"Back at work today. What's the mission? Why didn't you call me?" She asked, eyes still focused on the screen as Sam, Callen, and Deeks started to move their separate ways as the NCIS agents and a SWAT teams began to surround the building.

"Hey Kens." Eric greeted, quickly turning to face her before going back to his tablet. "Sorry, technically you were still on leave until nine this morning."

Kensi nodded.

"I can give you the address. It's not far from here." Nell offered.

"That won't be necessary Miss Jones. They have the situation under control." Hetty interrupted from behind them. "Welcome back Miss Blye. I take it all is well?"

"Yeah it is Hetty." She replied. "What's going on here?" She pointed to the screen.

"Ah, yes. The FBI recently asked for our help in a joint operation to take down some drug dealers funding a militant terrorist group in the Middle East. Up until now most of the leg work has been intel based but the FBI found their lab and invited us in on the take down." Hetty explained.

"And are these the blueprints of the building?" Kensi asked, pointing to an outline on the screen.

"Yup." Nell answered.

"It's pretty spread out." Kensi observed. "Wait, where is Callen going?"

"He's taking the service entrance." Eric chimed in.

Kensi looked between the building and the blueprints for a moment.

"But the service entrance is on the other side. He's gone straight past it." She pointed to the blueprints.

"Kensi's right." Nell concurred. "He looks like he's found a door though."

"There's not a door there on the blueprints. It must've been added later. Unless… Nell, can you put me through comms?"

Nell tossed Kensi a bluetooth ear piece and Kensi placed it in her ear, turning it on.

"Hey guys. Hold up. Callen, that's not the service entrance. The service entrance is about four yards back."

"What?"

"According to the blueprints, the service door is back the way you came."

"There wasn't a door there." He replied in a hushed whisper.

"It should be on the edge of the building. If these guys know what they're doing they've probably set a trap in the event of a raid. They know law enforcement usually breach the back first." Kensi explained.

"So they've put in a false entrance, hidden the real one." Sam's voice came over the line.

"That's what I'm thinking. Go back and take a closer look near the corner of the building." Kensi suggested. "You might want to get the bomb squad down there too. That fake door isn't just going to lead to a brick wall." She suggested to Nell.

"On it."

"Sneaky." Deeks commented.

"Okay, Kensi was right guys. We've got a door here. No handle or visible lock. Easy to go straight past." Callen informed.

"Whenever you're ready to breach Callen." Sam said.

A few moments later Callen came across the line again.

"On my three. One… two… three."

There were a few moments of silents through comms as the teams disappeared into the building. Gunshots could be heard over the line as Kensi, Eric, Nell, and Hetty waited for the situation to resolve.

It was almost five minutes later when a report came through.

"We got em. Send the coroner and some EMTs. We took a few down in here. The teams all good." Callen spoke as the group in ops breathed a collective sigh of relief. "We'll finish up here in the next few hours. Thanks for the info Kens, good to have you back."

Kensi spent the next few hours sitting in ops with Eric and Nell as they waited for the team to finish up at the scene. The six reunited at the bottom of the stairs upon their return.

"Kensi, you gotta stop leaving us with your partner. He mopes around all day when you're gone." Sam greeted, pulling Kensi into a brief hug.

"He'll get over it." She replied, nodded her head towards Deeks and Callen in greeting.

"So you're back?" Callen asked.

"Ah, no completely." Kensi replied. "I'll be on, ah, modified assignment for a while."

Four sets of curious eyes focussed on her.

"Doctors orders." She tried to shrug it off. "I've gotta lay low for a while. No demanding field work."

"For how long?" Sam questioned.

"Um, indefinitely at this stage."

All but Deeks eyed her with suspicion but none of them pushed further.

"So, drinks?" Callen broke the slightly awkward silence.

"Not so fast Mr. Callen. There's still an after action report to be completed and it's not the end of office hours." Hetty interrupted.

"No rest for the weary." Deeks groaned, moving towards his desk as the rest of the team did likewise, Nell and Eric both heading up to ops.

Deeks looked up at Kensi, throwing her a wink and a grin. She sent him a small smile in return. She'd tell the team eventually but there was no reason it had to be today.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey there awesome people! **

**Thanks for the continued support as I write this story. You all rock my world. I tried to reply to everyone who left a signed review last chapter. I really enjoyed hearing your opinions and theories as to what would happen in this chapter. **

**Thanks to you amazing, amazing people who took the time to leave a quick message of support: bookdiva, JerichoSteele, andirememberu, guesswhofern, L****ittlemissjellybabies, LOZ, TexRangerChic88, LaJoyMechell, ac28, Anna, Marta Kensi Deeks, Rach, kath46, Tilly33, JenRar, kaaw, tita, jlnonnekes, chris4jag, ilovemyjeep, mama's-broken-heart, LaraLeitao, and the 5 guests!**

**You guys continue to astound and encourage me! Thank you so much!**


	5. Chapter 5

He let out a low whistle in appreciation as she opened her front door Saturday night. He unashamedly looked her up and down, starting with her black pumps that gave her an extra three inches, moving up the seemingly endless span of her bare legs, reaching the hem of her red dress that hit just below mid thigh and gathered at her waist, following it up to the cut that was low enough to give him a glimpse of cleavage before his eyes reached hers.

"You scrub up nice Blye." He complimented.

"You haven't done too badly yourself Deeks. You borrow that from wardrobe at work?" She ribbed at his black button up and dress pants.

He chuckled at that, shaking his head before extending his arm out to her. "Shall we?"

She took the arm he proffered and followed him out to where his car was waiting.

"Keys." She said, stopping at the drivers side and laying her hand out, palm up.

"You don't even know where we're going." He argued, refusing to give them up.

"You can tell me where we're going. I'll drive."

Deeks wasn't having it though. He looped his arm around her elbow and all but dragged her to the passenger side of the car, opening the door for her.

"Nope. That's not gonna happen. In you hop Fern." With a begrudging sigh that was only half for show Kensi climbed into his car and he shut the door behind her before returning to the drivers side.

* * *

><p>"So, tell me about yourself." He requested, taking a sip from his water glass as they waited on their meals. The restaurant was definitely upscale, the kind of place you took a girl to impress them, much fancier than their usual taco stand.<p>

"Really?" She asked incredulously.

"Really. This is a first date after all." He countered.

"Well I work in law enforcement." She played along.

"What a coincidence. So do I." He smirked back.

"Yeah, I've got this partner and he's just…"

"Incredibly handsome? Charming? Adorable?" He interrupted.

"I was going to say annoying, intrusive, smug." She parried.

"Oh, ouch!" He feigned, putting a hand to his heart.

"But he's also pretty okay sometimes. I trust him." She amended. He grinned at her. "Don't let it go to your head." She warned.

"Never." He smiled. The waiter arrived with their food and as he put Deeks' down in front of him Kensi turned green.

Taking a deep breath through her mouth she frowned at him. "What did you order?"

"The salmon fettuccine." He looked eagerly at the meal, sticking his fork into it before noticing Kensi's adverse reaction. "Kens, are you alright?" Concerned furrowed his brow.

"Yeah sorry, yeah I'm fine." She tried to brush it off ,continuing to breath through her mouth.

"Kens…"

"I'm good, really. Eat your dinner." She insisted.

She picked up her utensils as Deeks mirrored her across the table. The food on her own plate suddenly looked unappetising. As Deeks pulled the first bite into his mouth the scent got stronger as it wafted under her nose.

She was up and bolting for the bathroom before she could even think about it, laying a quick hand on Deeks shoulder and mumbling a sorry as she passed him.

After emptying the contents of her stomach, she emerged from the stall and tried to pull herself together infront of the mirror. She wiped her mouth and took several deep breaths before steadily walking out of the restroom and returning to the table.

"Where's the food?" She asked confused, staring at the empty places. Deeks stood up from his seat, placing the check book on the table. "Deeks?"

"Let's go get something else." He suggested, outstretching his hand to her.

"But what about…?" She indicated to the table.

"Another time. Let's go. What do you feel like? Burgers? Tacos? Ice cream? Whatever you want." He told her as he guided her out of the restaurant, nodding goodbye to the hostess at the door.

"I'm actually not that hungry." She confessed. Deeks face contorted in mock-horror.

"Am I hearing correctly? Bottomless-pit Blye doesn't have an appetite?"

"Shut up." She released his hand to punch his arm playfully. "This is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes. All your fault. The kid didn't like your meal and apparently couldn't face mine either." She argued.

"Meebs is just sensitive is all, he'll get over it soon."

Kensi stopped just shy of the car.

"Oh my god. Where do I even start? Meebs? He?"

"Well, we can't keep calling it it can we?"

"But Meebs?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Amoeba. That's what they look like on the ultra-sound right? A little kidney shaped amoeba?"

She considered him for a moment. "You're serious."

"Have you got a better idea? Jellybean? Peanut?"

Kensi scrunched her nose up at his suggestions.

"You're ridiculous." She shook her head.

"It's why you like me." He grinned teasingly.

"Meebs it is." She threw her hands up taking the final steps to the passenger side of the car as Deeks opened the door for her.

Deeks closed the door behind her and jogged round to the driver's side.

"Where are we off to?"

Kensi shrugged.

"How about hot chocolate?" He suggested.

"Hmmm, I suppose."

"Starbucks it is" He announced, pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Kensi was sitting in a corner booth as Deeks walked over to her, a hot chocolate for her and a green tea for him along with a large slice of cake in his hands.<p>

"I know you said you weren't hungry but if you don't want it, I'll eat it." He said, placing the items on the table before taking a seat across from her.

"Gimme." She pulled the cake towards her and shoved a forkful in her mouth before Deeks could blink.

He laughed. "I thought as much."

"Thanks." She said, mouth still full of cake. She'd just about demolished the slice when she offered him a forkful.

"Woah! Kensi, sharing sweets! What's the world coming to?" He joked.

"I just, sorry I made you skip dinner." She replied, still holding out the fork towards him.

He shook his head and Kensi took the cake back, unfazed and secretly happy he hadn't taken her up on the offer.

"It's okay." He forgave. "I'll grab something on the way home tonight."

Kensi smiled apologetically at him.

"Really, it's fine." He repeated as Kensi polished off the last of the cake and pushed the plate to the side of the table, taking her hot chocolate in both hands and nursing it near her chest.

"So, what are your other first date questions?"

Deeks shrugged. "I don't usually ask that much actually. I've got the whole air of mystery going for me so they're normally the ones asking the questions."

Kensi barked out a laugh.

"Okay Blye, what's your signature first date move?" He countered.

"Uh uh, I'm not giving away my secrets." She shakes her head adamantly.

Deeks looked affronted then put on puppy dog eyes.

"Nope! That doesn't work on me and you know it!" She proclaimed. His eyes grew wider causing her to laugh at him.

* * *

><p>They continued their back and forth for a good forty minutes, brushing off the dirty looks other patrons shot them when their laughter got too uproarious. When Kensi yawned Deeks guided her out to the car again and drove her home.<p>

"You know you don't have to walk me to the door, right?" She asked as they were half way up her drive.

"I know." He replied simply.

She fished for her key in her purse and pulled it out.

"I would invite you in but I wouldn't want to give you the wrong impression." She winked at him.

"And what impression would that be?"

"I don't sleep with a guy on the first date." She grinned, fully aware of the irony of the statement. He laughed.

"I would never expect anything less of you."

There was a beat of awkward silence before Deeks placed a hand on her waist, moving in to kiss her. He was an inch away when Kensi pushed on his chest, raising a hand to her nose. Hurt filled his eyes but Kensi grabbed his hand before he could go too far.

"Your breath. It still smells like salmon." She explained.

"Oh, ah sorry." He looked down at his shoes. She manoeuvred her hand in his so their fingers were interlaced.

"Thanks for tonight Deeks. And I'm really sorry about dinner."

He looked up and met her eyes.

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged off.

"And I was serious about not inviting you in Shaggy."

"I figured. I'm hungry and before you offer, I don't even want to know what you've got in the styrofoam temple you call a refrigerator."

Kensi punched his arm but there was no weight behind it.

"Besides, you look pretty beat." He continued.

"Yeah, Meebs is kinda knocking it out of me."

He grinned widely at her use of the name.

"But, if you come by tomorrow afternoon maybe we can do a movie?" She suggested.

"A movie sounds great."

Kensi grinned at him before taking a step forward and wrapping her arms around him. She squeezed him gently, dropping a chaste, barely there kiss to his jaw line before she stepped back.

"Night Deeks."

"Night Kens."

Deeks watched her go inside, listening for the lock to click before returning to his car.

* * *

><p>She had just gotten in on the Wednesday morning of her twelfth week of pregnancy and she was already pissed. Being confined to her desk and ops wasn't her idea of a good time, neither was watching the rest of the team go into the field without her. The events of that morning hadn't helped her mood either. Her hair straightener had broken half way through her morning routine and then she'd hit peak hour traffic and to top it off her mother had called, informing her that she'd just bought the cutest little onesie with a tutu attachment. Kensi had tried to explain that they didn't know the sex yet but it hadn't had any impact on Julia's shopping.<p>

By the time she sat down at her desk her frustration was radiating off her in waves that were near tangible. She did her best to ignore the looks the guys were giving her as she unpacked her messenger bag and opened up her laptop.

"PMSing?" Callen teased. Deeks and Sam shot him wide-eyed looks of terror at his comment.

"Excuse me?" Kensi glared at him.

"Relax Kens, I'm kidding." He tried to brush her off.

Kensi stood up, placing both palms on her desk before taking a very deep breath. She exhaled and looked up again.

"I'll be in the gun range." She said as calmly as she could though menace could still be heard in her tone. She closed the laptop again and started to stalk off.

Deeks began to rise from his chair but Kensi stopped just past him, pointing a finger behind her in his direction but not turning to face him.

"And Deeks, if you follow me, I swear to god I will use you as my target." She put her arm down and continued her march into the armoury.

Callen and Deeks looked like scolded children as they looked between each other slightly miffed.

Sam sighed and stood up.

"I wouldn't follow her if I were you." Deeks warned. Sam ignored the warning and took the same route Kensi had a minute early and he waited by the door as she emptied her clip. When he saw her put the firearm down he entered.

"Deeks, I wasn't kidding. Get the hell out."

"Kensi."

"Oh, Sam. Hey. Sorry." Some of the frustration eased and her shoulders dropped slightly.

"So, how far along are you?" Sam asked, coming to stand beside her, leaning against one of the range dividers.

"Sorry?"

"You're pregnant. How many weeks?" He pushed.

"Pft! Pregnant? I'm not pregnant. You're pregnant!" She spluttered over her words before dropping her head in resignation, especially after her horrible cover. "Twelve weeks. How'd you know? Is it that obvious?" She looked down at her barely protruding stomach.

"Probably not. You've been a bit out of sorts recently. You stopped working in the field, you're wearing baggy clothes, plus you got that pregnancy glow going for you." He shrugged. "I've got two kids, I know the signs."

"Glow? Really?" She asked skeptically.

"Sure." He replied. They stood there for a moment while Kensi dismantled her gun.

"What about the father?"

Kensi turned to face him, leaning against one of the other dividers. "We're working it out."

"Good. I don't have to kick his ass then?"

"I can take care of myself you know." She argued.

"I'm aware, doesn't mean you should always have to. This team's like a family Kens. Remember that."

"I will. Thanks Sam." She smiled at him.

Sam pushed off the wall and pulled her into a hug.

"Congratulations Kens." He said while he embraced her. "You coming back out?"

"Soon." She consented, reassembling the firearm and reloading.

He nodded before leaving without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys. I'm not completely sold on this chapter but I'm going to post it anyway. If I give into my perfectionist side I'll never post it. Sorry it's a bit shorter too guys.**

**Thanks to the awesomesauce people who reviewed the last chapter: new adventures, Aneeta, foxy209, guesswhofern, fm999, willow, jlnonekes, mama's-broken-heart, Adriana Dricks, Marta Kensi Deeks, Rach, tita, It's me, LaJoyMechell, JenRar, Heather9979, Sprig, Marilyn, Hoosier65, and the 2 guests! **


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you think's going on with Kensi?" Eric's question pulled Nell's focus from her tablet. "She's been out of the field for four weeks now. It's a bit strange, isn't it?"

"Kinda."

"Do you _know_ what's up?" He pushed.

"No." Nell shook her head.

"But you know something."

"I know she's got some kind of a doctor's certificate." Nell confessed.

"So she's sick? What do you think it is?" Eric pushed.

"I really don't know. She's been spending her extra time off at home. I haven't really spoken to her much outside of work."

"You don't think it's cancer, do you?" Eric's eyes grew wide with concern.

"I'm sure, whatever it is, she'll tell us eventually." Nell tried to brush him off, returning to her work.

For the next half hour, try as she may, she couldn't pull her thoughts away from Eric's words.

"Can you hold down the fort? I'm gonna grab a quick lunch." She finally requested.

Eric nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks." She pulled the bluetooth piece from her ear and placed it on the desk, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

* * *

><p>Kensi stared across the bullpen at Deeks' unmanned desk. He'd been undercover with Sam and Callen the past three days and if she was completely honest with herself, she missed having her couch buddy the past few nights.<p>

"Kensi!" Nell down to her from the top of the stairs.

"Nell? Is everything okay? Are the guys alright?" She stood from her chair, slightly panicked.

"Everything's fine." Nell jogged down the stairs towards her. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you think… I just wanted to grab some lunch with you if you're up to it."

"Oh, ah, yeah. Lunch sounds great." She nodded, her hackles lowering and the tension in her shoulders dissipating.

Kensi came out from the bull pen and joined Nell and the pair walked towards the door.

"How much longer do you think the guys will be undercover?" Kensi queried as she drove the two of them towards her favourite food truck destination.

"Hopefully only another day or two." Nell replied. "They have most of the intel now. We just need a confession that'll hold up so the guys can arrest them."

"So not by, say, four this afternoon?"

"Ah, probably not. Why? What's happening at four?"

Kensi pulled into a free parking space.

"Oh, nothing. Just got a doctor's appointment." She said with as much nonchalance as she could muster, opening the door and climbing out of the car.

Kensi led them towards the line for the taco truck.

"Do you think he'll clear you for field duty?" Nell pried.

Kensi's eyes widened for just a second before her poker face fell back into place.

"Ah, I don't know. Maybe?"

Nell wasn't convinced.

"Kens, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

Kensi turned toward the food truck and ordered instead of answering Nell. A bag of tacos was placed in her awaiting hands a few moments later

When it became obvious that Kensi was thoroughly avoiding answering, Nell grabbed her arm and pulled her to a near by bench.

"Kensi, you're okay right? You know we're here for you, whatever it is?" She pushed.

"I know." Kensi looked at her feet.

"I just… It's not cancer is it?" The worry on Nell's face as she asked had Kensi rushing to reassure her.

"Cancer? No, no it's not cancer. It's nothing like that I swear!"

"Okay. Good." The redhead breathed in a sigh of relief. "So, what is it then."

Kensi went back to looking at her feet.

"Sorry." Nell back-pedalled. "I'm pushing. You don't have to tell me."

"I… I have a doctors appointment this afternoon. Once Sam and Callen are done on the mission I want to talk to everyone at once."

"So Deeks knows?" Nell eyed her suspiciously.

"What?"

"You said Sam and Callen but not Deeks. Deeks knows." Nell asserted.

"Ah, yeah. He's my partner, ya know? And he's annoying." She laughed, slightly nervous.

"Okay." Nell relented. "But, I want to know soon, alright?"

"Alright." Kensi agreed. "We should be getting back soon. Eric's tacos are gonna get cold." Kensi held up the bag.

* * *

><p>Kensi sat in the waiting room just before four feeling guilty. It had been her intention to have Deeks along to this appointment with her but she'd been holding back from telling him. She'd wanted to surprise him. At least that's what she'd told herself. But then, as was the nature of their work, he'd been put undercover.<p>

"Blye?"

Kensi stood as her name was called and followed Dr. Steindle into the sterile room. She sat down in the plastic chair across the desk from the doctor's own and answered questions regarding her health and how she'd been feeling lately. She was well. She'd been a little sick a few weeks ago but other than that she was going great. She was avoiding alcohol and caffeine and deli meats and soft cheeses.

"Good, good. Alcohol is the top thing you should be avoiding while pregnant. A cup of coffee every now and then won't hurt though. I understand you have a very demanding job."

"Really? I can have coffee?" Kensi's eyes lit up with joy.

Dr. Steindle laughed. "A little. Don't go overboard though." She warned. Kensi nodded, still looking like a kid that had received exactly what they wanted for their birthday. "Okay, why don't we get you up on the table and let's see how things are going in there."

Kensi climbed up, leaning back and raising her shirt. She let out a low hiss as the blue gel hit her skin but it warmed quickly as Dr. Steindle spread it with the wand. The doctor moved the wand around for a few minutes, staring at the screen before she pivoted it towards Kensi so she could see.

"Everything is looking great. You're at fourteen weeks now so your bub is about the size of lemon. Did you want to hear the heartbeat again?" She offered.

"Yeah." She said, almost in awe. Now that it wasn't so new and scary, it was kind of amazing. An idea struck her. "Could I record it on my phone? The uh, the father couldn't make it today and I'm not really sure when he'll be back but I might be able to send him a video. Would that be okay?"

"That shouldn't be a problem." Dr. Steindle smiled. "Just put your phone onto aeroplane mode. It shouldn't affect the equipment but, just in case."

"Thanks." Kensi pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned it on, quickly flicking it into flight mode before bringing up the camera and pointing it towards the black and white screen.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." Kensi pressed record.

A fluttery thumping sound filled the room as the doctor continued to scan the wand over Kensi's stomach. Dr. Steindle brought a finger towards the screen and pointed at a small circle. "This is your baby's head." She pushed the wand to the other side of Kensi's belly. "And here are it's feet. I can't tell the sex quite yet. Next scan we should be able to find out though, if you'd like to."

"Deeks, meet Meebs." Kensi whispered loud enough for the phone's microphone to pick it up. She continued filming a few more seconds before she stopped. "Thanks for that." Kensi grinned, locking her phone and pocketing it again.

"Meebs?" Dr. Steindle questioned, amused.

"As in Amoeba. Wasn't my idea." Kensi denied, with an eye roll, suppressing a smile of her own.

The doctor took a few measurements and screen captures before turning the monitor off and cleaning Kensi's stomach.

"We have a few more second trimester tests to run this appointment and then you're free to go."

* * *

><p>Deeks' phone vibrated from his bedside table. He'd been laying in bed, staring at the ceiling for the past two hours.<p>

He tossed his arm in the direction of the table, fumbling around until he grasped his phone, pulling it off charge.

A message from Kensi lit up the screen.

_Sorry you couldn't be here today._

There was a video attachment. He pressed play and impatiently waited for it to load. When it finally began his breath caught in his throat. He watched the video through, a chocked laugh escaping as Kensi said Meebs. The video finished and he pressed play again.

He woke the next morning with his phone stuck to his cheek. He sat up, clutching at his device, before standing and heading towards the kitchen. Callen was already there, monitoring the surveillance equipment over a bowl of cereal.

Deeks took a seat across the table from Callen, rubbing a hand over his face and grabbing a bowl along with the box of cereal and carton of milk Callen had left out.

He made his breakfast and propped his phone up against the cereal box, pressing play on the video for the umpteenth time.

"What's that look for?" Callen interrogated, eyeing Deeks from across the room.

"What look?"

"That awe and wonder look. What are you watching?"

"Nothing."

Callen stood and walked behind Deeks, eyeing the screen.

"What is that?" He grabbed the phone before Deeks could pocket it and pressed play.

"It's an ultrasound. Kinda amazing right? That sound? That's the heart beat."

Callen stared at the screen, squinting as a faceless voice pointed at several squiggles and named them as body parts. Deeks grabbed it back and paused the video before Kensi's voice came through.

"So, who'd you knock up?" Callen joked but on seeing Deeks reaction turned serious.

"Wait, this is actually your child?"

Deeks looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I… I…" He stuttered.

Sam came bursting through the front door just then.

"Sorry to break up the breakfast club. We gotta move."

Deeks pocketed his phone and he and Callen followed Sam out the door, minds fully on the job.

* * *

><p>Kensi was banging on Deeks' door that night.<p>

"Deeks, what the hell? Open the door!" He heard her voice from the other side of the apartment as he rushed to open the door.

"Deeks, I… where are your clothes." She looked down at his bare chest and towel-clad waist.

"I was in the shower."

"Oh, right, sorry." She looked sheepish. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." He stepped aside. "I'm just gonna go get dressed." He hitched a thumb in the direction of his bedroom. He paused, about to say something before thinking better of it and retreating down the hallway.

Kensi moved into the living room and was about to sit in his arm chair when she noticed something in the corner of the room. A sheet covered a haphazardly shape next the the television. She placed a quick glance over her shoulder to see if he was approaching but when she neither saw nor heard him she ventured over to the figure.

She lifted the corner of the covering slowly and took a quick glimpse before pulling the sheet completely off. She folded her legs underneath her, sitting in front of the pile and picking up a thick _What to Expect When You're Expecting _book and paging through it.

She heard Deeks approaching form behind her.

"What's all this?" She asked, gazing at him over her shoulder as he stepped through the doorway.

"Oh, ah, you weren't meant to know about that stuff yet…" He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, looking unsure.

"What is it?" She pushed again.

"It's baby stuff. I've been grabbing a few bits and pieces when I've seen them over the past few weeks." He shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She spun around on the floor so she was facing him, still sitting cross legged.

"Cause, we're still working this out. Figuring out where we stand."

"Deeks…" She all but whispered.

"I was gonna bring it over to you in a few weeks." He confessed.

"This is… it's really sweet Deeks." She melted slightly before him, letting a few of her defences down.

Deeks moved towards her and sat next to her as she spun back to rifle through the pile. There was an array of baby paraphernalia. Everything from pregnancy books to onesies to toys and blankets.

Kensi lifted the items, examining each, occasionally making eye contact with Deeks and smiling. Her hands fell on a vintage-looking blanket. As she picked it up she noticed her partner tense beside her. She eyed him curiously before examining the blanket closer. There was an insignia on the bottom corner — _MB. _

"M.B., Martin Brandel." Deeks said softly by way of explanation.

"Oh." Kensi's eyes opened reverently as she placed the blanket across her lap, smoothing it with delicate strokes.

"My grandmother made it for me." He opened up a bit more before the pair fell into silence. Carefully, Kensi folded the blanket, placing it down next to the pregnancy books she'd set aside, and stood to her feet. She offered her hand out to Deeks.

"Come on. I wanna show you something."

He took her hand and he stood. She walked them towards the hall where a mirror hung.

She moved to stand him behind her before dropping his fingers from her own and turning side on to the body length mirror. Her hands reached down and pulled at the hem of her shirt. Sliding the material up her body she secured it in the underwire of her bra, leaving her stomach bare.

Kensi eyed her barely there bump in the mirror before focussing her gaze on Deeks' reflection. His eyes were wide in awe as he stared.

"Wow."

"It's kinda cool, isn't it?" She asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"It's amazing Kens. Can… May I?" He gestured towards the bump.

"Um, sure. I suppose." Her eyes moved from the reflection to him.

Awe-struck he slowly moved his hand to touch her stomach, only letting his fingertips make contact at first, his eyes darting up to her face to make sure she was still okay with him touching her. Her gaze was fastened to his hand.

Slowly he placed his full palm against the bump. He held it there for a moment before moving in front of her, crouching so his face was level with her stomach.

"Hey Meebs." He grinned.

Kensi's hand covered his and he looked up to her face. Her eyes were slightly glassy.

"I swear to god Deeks, if you kiss my stomach." There was no real threat in her words as she spoke them.

She tugged at his wrist and once he was upright she wrapped her arms around his neck, not bothering to readjust her shirt as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"We're gonna figure this all out." It wasn't so much a question as an assertion.

"We are." He concurred, wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders. She gave him one final squeeze, pulling back and tugging her shirt down.

"We're gonna have to tell the team this week. Nell's getting suspicious." Kensi broached.

"Ah, Callen may already suspect something's up. He saw me watching the ultrasound video on the stakeout." Deeks confessed sheepishly. "Doesn't know it was you but he asked me who I knocked up."

Kensi returned his sheepish look.

"Sam knows I'm pregnant. He figured it out a few weeks ago. I didn't tell him you were the father." She countered.

"Well, this is going to be fun, isn't it?" Deeks grinned nervously.

"Dibs not it!" Kensi's pointer finger connected with her nose.

"What? No! That's not fair!"

Kensi walked off towards the kitchen, finger still to her nose, Deeks following after her.

"Kens? Seriously?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here's a bit more of a fluffy chapter for you. It's hard to write angsty and drama after an episode like last nights! But drama there will be in upcoming chapters. **

**All of you who review constantly and consistently are my heroes. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my post ep for last night's episode! And all of you who reviewed last chapter: Sprig, Athena465, Sweetlilloz, kath46, Arbitterary, Aneeeta, Marta Kensi Deeks, christ4jag, jlnonnekes, fanficforyou, LaJoyMechell, JenRar, Rach, Raderle, Adriana Dricks, Hoosier65, and the two guests! Special thanks to the awesome guest for the gun lesson! I found that really interesting and it's something I wouldn't have ever known. So thanks!**

**Thanks for all the Tumblr love too guys! The new cover that's gone up in this chapter won the Tumblr vote by a landslide!**


	7. Chapter 7

That Friday Deeks found Kensi in the gym, sweating as she pedalled on one of the stationery bikes.

"Morning Partner." Deeks greeted as he came up in front of her.

She scowled at him but didn't reply.

"Ooookay." Deeks drawled out. "So, we're still telling the team today?"

"Yup." Her reply was static and hard.

"Are you okay?"

"Yup."

"Right." Deeks was about to turn and walk out, leaving Kensi to her work out when he opened his mouth again. "Are you sure you should be doing that? What with the…"

Kensi's eyes turned dark and Deeks felt as though her glare could melt ice. She stopped pedalling and got off the bike, wiping her brow and stalking towards him.

"Ah, I mean, no. I don't know what I'm talking about. Never mind. Keep going." He tried to retract.

She continued towards him even as he stepped back, trying to retreat.

"Did you _read_ any of the pregnancy books you bought?" She questioned, a finger pointed towards him threateningly.

"Ah, no. I bought a fathering book but I haven't started it yet." He confessed, his back hitting the far wall as she continued to advance on him.

"Well I have. I started reading them last night. Do you have _any_ idea what this is going to put me through?" She punctuated her sentence with three painful jabs to Deeks' shoulder with her finger.

"Kind of?" The look on Kensi's face told him that was the wrong answer. "I mean no, no I probably don't."

"My feet are going to swell and I'm going to get acid reflux. I'm gonna get constipated and some pregnancies cause excess gas, acne, haemorrhoids, incontinence, facial hair, bleeding gums, nose bleeds, and urinary tract infections!" She punctuated each point with another jab as Deeks stared at her, slightly horrified. "And that's not even getting started on the weight gain and the actual labour which can last up to eighteen hours! Oh, and don't even get me going on breastfeeding!"

"Wow, 18 hours that's," He blew out a breath. "That's a lot."

Kensi looked at him with a 'no shit' expression. She waited for him to say something more but when his silence extended past a minute she shook her head and began to walk towards the showers.

"Kensi! Kensi wait!" He called after her. She waved him off and disappeared into the women's locker room.

* * *

><p>Kensi stripped out of her exercise gear and step under the shower spray, taking a few deep breaths as the hot water hit her face. She was mad, at Deeks, at herself, at the situation as a whole. She was also terrified and excited. Her hands fell to her bump and she rubbed it tenderly.<p>

"You're gonna make life real interesting, aren't you Meebs?" She sighed.

She soaped herself up and rinsed off before grabbing a towel and returning to her locker to change. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jeans as the rested limply across the bench. She sent off a quick text to Deeks before drying off and getting dressed again.

Deeks grabbed his phone as it dinged on his desk.

_Extra hormones are also a side effect of pregnancy._

It dinged again.

_I've spoken to the doctor about it, and exercise is fine._

He grinned and locked the phone, returning to his computer.

* * *

><p>Sam and Callen were packing it in for the day and Kensi threw a look to Deeks. He shrugged at her and she rolled her eyes.<p>

"Hey guys, grab a drink? Deeks is buying." Kensi proclaimed.

Sam and Callen looked towards the detective.

"Ah, yeah. My shout." He agreed, starting to pack away his possessions too. "Riding with you?" He asked Kensi.

"Yeah, sure." She agreed, throwing her bag over her shoulder and coming to stand in front of Deeks' desk.

"We'll meet you there." Sam said as he and Callen made their way out of the mission.

"We won't be long." Kensi assured, waving to them. She pulled out her phone and began typing. It vibrated in reply a few seconds later. "Eric and Nell are on their way too. Come on Deeks, you almost done?"

"Yup. Let's go." Deeks lifted his bag across his torso and followed the path that Sam and Callen had just taken, diverting to the passenger side of Kensi's SRX when they were in the parking lot.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Deeks asked as they pulled out of the lot and into the Los Angeles traffic.

"You're going to tell them." Kensi asserted.

"Me?"

"Yes. You."

"Why? Why not both of us?" He argued.

"Seriously? I had to tell my mother, Hetty, you, and Sam. It's your turn." She countered.

"Yes, but you didn't tell Sam technically, he figured it out. And you didn't tell him I was the father."

"Deeks, do you remember this morning, in the gym?"

"Okay, I see your point." He sat silently for a moment. "Do we have to tell them? Really? I mean, they don't have to know." He joked.

It was met with a beat of silence from Kensi.

"Do you regret it?" Kensi quickly faced him before returning her eyes to the road.

"Regret what?"

"Having sex, me getting pregnant?"

"No, not regret. It wasn't the best timing but I don't regret it." He furrowed his brow, facing her as she continued to drive them to their destination.

"Do you still want to work out our thing?"

"Of course." He replied without hesitation.

"Would you be ashamed of our relationship? Of having me as your girlfriend? As the mother of your child?"

"What? No! Why would you ask me that?"

"Then yes, we need to tell them. You need to tell them. Because, we're going to work this out, one day soon, and I know you'll be proud of that, of us. They need to know it too." She threw another look at him.

"I'm already proud of us." He said quietly, reaching over and placing a cautious hand on her leg. His action was met with a small smile.

"And I suppose, if worse comes to worse, I can just use you as a shield, right? You'll protect me." He grinned. Kensi laughed, turning into the parking lot.

"Good luck with that."

She turned off the engine picked Deeks' hand up off her lap, squeezing it gently.

"Ready?" She asked.

He nodded. "You?"

"I am if you are."

He gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand lightly once before dropping it, both of them stepping out of the car and walking towards the bar.

Sam and Callen had already secured a booth off to the side and Kensi and Deeks strolled over to join them.

"Everybody having the usual?" Deeks asked as Kensi took a seat next to Callen.

"Ah, just water for me." Kensi ordered. Sam looked at her knowingly while Callen furrowed his brow at her.

"I'm designated driver." She tried to explain.

"Come on. One won't hurt." Callen pushed.

"I might just wait for Eric and Nell." She shrugged. "Just water." She reiterated to Deeks who gave the group a thumbs up before heading over to the bar.

"So Eric and Nell coming too?" Sam queried.

"They're on their way now." Kensi confirmed.

"How'd you get stuck with designated driver?" Callen questioned.

"It was my turn. Besides, Deeks and I carpooled this morning. I'm not letting him drive my car." She joked.

The men laughed as Deeks returned, three beers precariously balanced in his hands.

"Where's my water?" Kensi demanded teasingly as Deeks distributed the three glasses.

"Right here Princess." He countered quickly, pulling a plastic bottle from his pocket, handing it to Kensi, and taking a seat across from her next to Sam.

"Deeks, I've been meaning to ask you all week. What was with that video you were watching on the case on Monday?" Callen grilled.

"Ah, nothing. It was nothing." Deeks fidgeted uncomfortably.

"What video?" Sam interjected.

"This black and white ultrasound video. He was getting all gooey-eyed watching it over breakfast. I asked him who he knocked up but we got called away before he answered."

Kensi watched from across the table as Sam's eyes grew wide, putting two and two together.

"No."

Kensi and Deeks' slightly panicked eyes met across the booth before both became extremely interested in the drinks before them.

"No." Sam repeated. "Kensi?"

She was peeling the label from her water bottle.

"Mmm?" She hummed, looking up at him.

"I thought you said you were working it out with the father?"

"We are working it out." She defended.

"Wait, what am I missing?" Callen interrupted.

"Kensi?" Sam invited her to answer.

"Deeks." She threw the responsibility to him.

"Ah, Kensi's pregnant. That was the video." He explained, trying to pass it off as less than a big deal.

"Kensi's pregnant?" Callen's tone was disbelieving. "Is this some weird prank you guys are trying to pull?"

"It's true G." Sam noted. "Apparently it's not the biggest news tonight though."

"Seems pretty big to me." Callen objected.

"Ask her who the father is." Sam challenged, leaning back and slinging his arm cockily across the back of the seat.

"Kensi?" Callen implored.

Kensi didn't answer, her eyes looking to Deeks.

"Wait, what? Deeks?" Callen exclaimed.

"What's Deeks?" Nell inquired as she and Eric made it to the table.

Sam and Callen sat there looking at Kensi expectantly, waiting for her to provide more information and answer Nell's question. Kensi, meanwhile was staring down Deeks.

"Uh, I suppose I have something to announce, I mean, Kensi and I have something to announce." He stammered. "Kensi's pregnant and I, uh, I'm the father." He tussled his hair nervously as he awaited the inevitable reactions.

"Well, congratulations." Nell was the first one to speak, hugging Kensi tightly then moving to hug Deeks on the other side.

"Yeah, congratulations guys!" Eric affirmed, slapping Deeks' back.

"So, does this mean you two are a couple?" Callen piped up.

"Not technically." Deeks winced, his eyes begging Kensi to help.

"We're sorting it out." Kensi assisted.

"How far along are you now?" Nell interjected before Sam or Callen could continue down that path of interrogation.

"Fifteen weeks." Kensi and Deeks answered simultaneously, causing Kensi to blush, containing a small smile, while Deeks' grin broke across his face.

"Well, congratulations I suppose." Callen's arm fell around Kensi's shoulders briefly in a hug while Sam placed his hand of Deeks' shoulder for a moment.

"Next round of drinks is on me. Who's having another?" Eric offered.

Sam, Callen and Nell took him up on it. Deeks got up, grabbing two chairs from a nearby table and adding them to the end of the booth, sitting on the one next to Kensi while Nell sat on the other, leaving Deeks' seat next to Sam free for Eric.

Nell had started up a conversation with Sam about sport and Callen was interjecting occasionally.

"Well, that went well, don't ya think?" Deeks murmured to Kensi.

"Yeah. For now." She grinned, a twinkle in her eye.

"What do you mean, for now?"

"I just mean, there's gonna be a lot of time with just the three of you in the field, there'll be plenty of time for them to kill you later." She warned playfully.

"Kens. You don't really think they're mad at me?" Deeks turned slightly worried eyes on her.

"No. We're both consenting adults. What we do is our business. They respect us, both of us, individually and they'll respect us together too." She assured.

* * *

><p>"Do you want to come in for a bit?" He asked as he pulled Kensi's car into his drive way. She'd asked him to drive mostly because she was feeling tired but also because she kinda liked the way his face lit up when she handed them keys to her car.<p>

"Sure." She smiled, exiting the car and following him in. Monty greeted them at the door, tail wagging, weaving in between their legs.

"Hey Monty." Kensi greeted, leaning down to scratch the dog between the ears. "I meant to ask, where was he the other day?" She looked up at Deeks.

"I have a dog sitter for when I'm on drawn out assignments."

"You know, now that I'm not going into the field, I can watch him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, practice right?" Kensi gestured down to her stomach, standing up again as Monty went to his dog bed in the living room.

"Did you just say you were going to practice being a mom with my dog?" Deeks asked incredulously.

Kensi shrugged. "Kinda. It's better than nothing, right?"

He laughed at her. "Only you. Do you want anything to drink, eat?"

"Whatcha got?"

"What are you in the mood for?" he rallied.

"Do you have anything in the sweet baked goods category?"

"I'll see what I can do." He hustled into the kitchen.

When he came out, twinkie in hand, he shook his head. Kensi was curled up on the couch, Monty at her feet, both dozing.

"Kens?"

"Huh?" She sat up and tried to shake the fuzziness from her brain. He handed the dessert to her. "Thanks." She smiled, ripping it open and eating it in two bites.

"You tired?" He inquired.

"A little. I should probably go." She stood from the couch.

"You don't have to you know. You can stay here. I don't really like the idea of you driving 20 minutes home."

"You don't have to like it." She bristled.

Deeks sighed.

"That's not what I'm trying to say. Don't get defensive." He placated. "I'm just saying, you might be better off just spending the night. I'll even sleep on the futon in the spare room if you like."

Kensi considered him for a moment.

"Fine." She agreed before shuffling towards his bedroom. He followed after her a few moments later to find her riffling through his wardrobe.

"Can I help you find something in there?"

"No, I'm good." She said, pulling out one of his T-shirts from the bottom of a neatly folded pile, upending the lot of them.

"Okay. Good. I'll just grab a few things." He entered the room as she moved into the bathroom to quickly get changed. When she emerged he was heading towards the door.

"Deeks. Get your ass back here."

He turned around, looking like a deer in headlights.

"Your futon is a horrendous excuse for anything remotely comfortable. I've slept on that thing before." She shuddered for effect. "I get the right side." She was in his bed, looking at him expectantly.

"Oh, ah, yeah, okay. I'm just gonna get changed."

She nodded and he headed into the bathroom. He appeared again a few minutes later and turned off the lights before hopping in beside her. He kept a respectable distance between them at first, treating it like he had on their first mission as Justin and Melissa, before she'd fallen asleep and sprawled herself across the bed.

"Deeks?" She stuck her hand out behind her, searching for him.

"Yeah?" He grabbed her outstretched hand.

"If we're going to make our 'thing' work, you're gonna have to do better than that." She tugged on his hand, pulling until he was rolled onto his side directly behind her. She placed his hand over her bump and rested hers on top.

"Okay Kens." He smiled into her hair, shuffling closer and getting comfortable. "Night."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** **Hey all! So, I have a question for you. I've done a few time jumps in this fic so far and I'm just wondering how you guys are keeping up with them. There are going to be more time jumps in the future and I just want to know whether subtly mention how far along Kensi is in the pregnancy, either through dialogue or exposition, is enough. Or would it be better/easier for you all if I started putting the weeks at the beginning of chapters or the beginning of time jumps? Let me know! **

**As always, thanks to my amazing reviewers last chapter: chris4jag, Marta Kensi Deeks, foxy209, Marilyn, guesswhofern, gremlin2318,Raderle, mama's-broken-heart, Rach, LaJoyMechell, Littlemissjellybabies, Tilly33, Aneeeta, JenRar, anonkp, Hoosier65, and the two guests. Special thanks also to NCISchick for her awesomeness on Facebook.**

***Thanks to the guest reviewer for picking up my Aussie slang! Sorry guys! Feel free to point it out! It's actually really useful to me.**


	8. Chapter 8

Her phone rang from the bedside table and she groaned, trying to ignore it and snuggle further into the warmth of the covers. Suddenly the blanket around her torso moved, pulling her further into the bed. She startled slightly, her hand flying to the arm, not blanket, wrapped around her. She relaxed slightly, dancing her fingers over the back of the hand that rested securely on her stomach.

"Make it stop…" Deeks' voice moaned into the hair on the back of her head. Kensi smiled and reached for the phone, swiping to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Kensi? Are you okay?" Julia's concerned voice came through the line. In the stillness of the room and with his proximity to his partner Deeks could hear every word as it came through. He pushed up on the arm not wrapped around Kensi and looked at her curiously.

"Mom? Yeah, I'm good. Why wouldn't I be?" Kensi replied, confused.

"I'm at your house. Are you home? It was nine that I was supposed to be picking you up, wasn't it?"

Kensi's eyes grew wide.

"Crap." She muttered under her breath. "Sorry, I forgot."

She gently pulled Deeks' hand from her stomach and sat up, spinning to rest her feet on the floor, sending an apologetic look at her partner over her shoulder.

"Oh, are you home?" Julia repeated.

"Ah, no. I'm… I'm with Deeks." She confessed. Behind her she could feel Deeks moving to sit on the edge of his side of the bed too.

"So you told him and it went well? I'm so glad. We can reschedule and…" Julia's excited voice caused Kensi to pull the phone away from her ear and look over at Deeks who was grinning.

"Mom." Kensi stopped her, standing from the bed and walking towards to corner of the bedroom. "I don't want to reschedule. And we're not together, not yet anyway." She couldn't help but wince at the slightly dejected look on Deeks' face as she said it. "Why don't you pick me up from here?"

Deeks stood from the bed too, heading towards the door. "Breakfast?" He offered, turning to face her.

She placed her hand over the speaker of the phone. "Coffee?" She requested.

Deeks gave her a a raised eyebrow. His whole face screamed 'are you sure you should be having that?'.

She glared at him, daring him to challenge her choice. He put his hands up in surrender and shuffled out of the room and into the kitchen.

"I'll be ready in 20 minutes." Kensi told her mother, giving her Deeks' address.

"Okay Kens, I'll see you soon." Her mother chimed through the line.

"See you soon." Kensi hung up the phone and put it back on the bedside table before following Deeks' path into the kitchen. He was standing at the counter, Monty sitting patiently at his feet.

"Hey." She murmured as the dog trotted over to her. She bent and scratched behind the mutt's ear a few times.

"Hey." He echoed, handing her a mug of freshly brewed coffee as she stood upright again.

"Thanks." She took a long sip and savoured it. "The doctor said a cup of coffee a day is fine Deeks. Stop looking at me like that." She didn't bother to open her eyes as she spoke.

"Sorry." He replied sheepishly.

"My next appointment is in four weeks. Come with me? We'll let Hetty know, we can both put in for a half day." She suggested.

"Yeah?" The smile was practically bursting off his face.

"Yeah." She affirmed with a smile of her own. "I'm going to go shower, and steal one of your shirts." She informed him, scratching Monty on the head as she passed him again.

"You've already stolen one of my shirts." He cried after her.

"Yup. Probably not going to give it back either." She called over her shoulder and he smiles. She stopped in the doorway and turned to face him, a hand resting on the door frame. "Toast?"

"What?"

"You offered breakfast. Just some toast." She stated, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not even a please?" He teased as she turned around again.

"Thank you!" She yelled back to him as she disappeared into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>The knock at his front door came just as Kensi was stuffing her second piece of toast into her mouth.<p>

"I got it." She mumbled around the bread, moving towards the front of the house. She was dressed in yesterdays jeans and one of Deeks' flannel button ups, the sleeves rolled up and the extra fabric tucked into her pants.

She opened the front door and greeted her mother, leaning in to place a kiss on the older woman's cheek. Julia grinned as she brushed the few crumbs her daughter had left on her face.

"I'm just gonna grab my things." Kensi moved into the house, leaving her mother on the doorstep.

Julia took a step inside the apartment and was still standing in the door way when Deeks came into view. He spied Julia and rolled his eyes at Kensi's lack of manners.

"Come on in Julia." He grinned, Monty standing at his side, eyeing off the food in Deeks' hand. Deeks threw the dog the crust of his last piece of toast as Julia approached him.

"Marty!" She greeted enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Congratulations." She smiled at him, pulling back.

"Okay, let's go!" Kensi asserted, appearing in the entry way, phone and wallet in hand. "I'll be back to pick up my car later." She smiled at Deeks, moving to stand by her mother's side.

"Sure." Deeks nodded.

"It was good to see you again Marty. You and Kensi will have to come over for lunch soon." Julia offered.

"Absolutely." Deeks agreed. "Have fun." He waved the pair off, closing the door behind them. He leaned against it, caught somewhere between elation and disappointment.

* * *

><p>Half an hour after Kensi left with her mother another knock sounded at Deeks' front door. Thinking it was Kensi picking up something he forgot, he swung the door open and was taken aback to find a tall ex-navy SEAL.<p>

"Sam? Not that I don't appreciate your company but what are you doing on my doorstep."

"Came to have a talk. You gonna let me in?" Sam replied.

Deeks shrugged and stepped away.

"Is Kensi here?"

"No."

"Why is her car in the drive?" He questioned.

Deeks shrugged. "She was too tired to go home. She stayed the night. Her mom came and picked her up for some kind of shopping trip I think." He paused. "If you're here to give me the 'you hurt her, I'll kill you' talk, I already know, but feel free to threaten away." Deeks closed the door and followed Sam to where he'd taken a seat on the couch, Monty sitting at his feet looking for attention from the burly man. Sam complied, patting the dog as Deeks took a seat in the arm chair across from him.

"I'm not here to give you the big brother talk. Kensi's a big girl, she can take care of herself and I've seen her take you down."

"Fair point." Deeks conceded. "So why are you here then?"

"How are you?" The SEAL asked, tilting his head up.

"Ah, good. Ya know, healthy, fit, sharp." Deeks listed.

"Deeks. I've been where you are. Aidan wasn't exactly planned." He confided. "How you really doing?"

Deeks took a moment, thinking through the best way to deflect again before deciding against it. He let out a long breath, his shoulders deflating slightly.

"Ah, yeah. Great. I mean, it's scary. It's terrifying. God knows I didn't have the best example of how a father is supposed to act and I would eat my gun before I let myself become my own father but I'm excited, kinda. I mean, it doesn't completely seem real just yet. I know in my head that it is and I've seen the ultra sound video but it's still hard to imagine holding a baby that's some kind of mini Kensi/Deeks combo."

Sam chuckled.

"It won't feel real until you're holding that kid. Not completely."

"Good to know." Deeks nodded.

"What about you and Kensi?"

"We're good. I mean, we're not officially a couple or anything but…" He trailed off.

"But she stayed the night?" Sam challenged.

Deeks shrugged in reply.

"Right. Well, I'm not even gonna comment on that." The SEAL grinned. "Just, work it out."

"I'll try." Deeks agreed. Sam stood from the couch and Deeks mirrored his action.

Sam extended his hand and Deeks took it, shaking it firming before allowing the taller man to pull him into a one-armed hug, both men patting each other on the back before pulling apart.

"You'll be fine." Sam reassured as they made their way to the front door. "See you Monday."

"Yeah. Thanks Sam. See you Monday." Deeks waved him off. "Weird…" Deeks murmured to himself, shaking it off and going back to the couch.

"It wasn't just me, right Monty? That was weird." Deeks scratched the mutt's belly as he rolled onto his back.

* * *

><p>"What about this?" Julia asked, holding up a pregnancy book.<p>

"Trust me Mom, I really don't need any more of those." Kensi replied, looking through a mountain of stuffed animals.

"I know you have the internet but these books are really good Kens." She tried to sway.

"I have like, five of them." Kensi replied, pulling out a giraffe and keeping it in one hand, still rifling through the pile.

"Five?" Julia queried.

"Deeks." Kensi said by way of explanation. "He's been buying things. Including buying me pregnancy books. AHA!" She exclaimed, pulling a small lion out of the pile.

"Tell me again why you aren't together yet?" Julia smiled at her daughter knowingly.

"Mom."

"Kensi." She echoed her daughter's tone back at her. "He's a good man Kens, and he cares about you."

"I know he does Mom." Kensi replied softly, toying with the lion's mane to distract herself.

"And you care about him?"

"Yeah, of course I do."

"Then what's the problem?" Julia pushed. "I mean, you are going to let him be a father to this child, aren't you? You don't think he'll be a bad father, do you?"

Kensi's eyes darted up. "He's going to be a great dad. He's great with kids. I'm the one we need to worry about when it comes to parenthood." She confessed. Before her mother could try to reassure her she powered on. "I just, we were taking things slow between us. I don't want us to rush in for the wrong reasons. I mean, that never ends well, right? Getting married just because you're having a child together?"

"So, you're just not going to start anything on the basis that it could be for the wrong reasons despite the fact you've been dancing around this for years? We're not talking about marriage here Kens, not yet anyway. I'm pretty sure that man would have you in any capacity you let him."

"I know that." Her eyes went back down to the plush toy.

"What are you afraid of Kensi?" Julia's hand came to rest on Kensi's back.

The younger woman shrugged.

"He's not Jack you know."

"I know that." Kensi said firmly. "I trust him, Mom. I trust him with everything. He'd never leave me willingly. I'm not afraid of him going anywhere."

"You're afraid of yourself." Julia stated.

"Kinda. I'm not the stay at home mom type. I love my job, I don't want to stop doing my job just because I have a baby. I'm not a domestic goddess by any means, I can barely cook." Kensi laughed humourlessly.

"Kens, baby girl, I don't think he's looking for a stay at home, arm candy, dinner on the table at 6 woman."

Kensi nodded along, not meeting Julia's eyes, still fiddling with the toy.

"I'm not saying you need to move in with him or that you should have a ring on your finger anytime soon but give the man a chance. Let him be what he wants to be for you."

Kensi continued to nod.

"You're right."

"I know." Julia grinned at her daughter as she looked up.

"Shut up." Kensi shouldered her mother good naturally.

"What's with the lion?" Julia queried the toy in her daughter's hand.

"It's a jungle cat." She smiled despite herself. "It's a Deeks thing."

"Of course it is." Julia laughed. "Come on, let's go look at some clothes." She put her arm around Kensi's shoulders as the younger woman groaned.

"No more baby clothes! There's still another 5 and a half months until this kid is born and it's already got more clothes than me!" She complained.

"I was thinking clothes for you actually. Don't think I missed the fact that you're wearing Marty's shirt. You're going to need maternity clothes before you know it." She tugged her daughter towards the women's clothing section of the department store.

* * *

><p>As Deeks opened the door to her, Kensi turned and waved goodbye to her mother and she drove off.<p>

"You should get me a key." Kensi said, pushing past Deeks into his apartment, four full shopping bags over her arms.

"Why?"

"So I don't have to knock." She replied simply.

"Right."

"Come here."

"You're awfully bossy today." Deeks observed, coming over to her anyway.

Kensi was unfazed by his comment.

"I want to talk to you." She looked at him from where she'd sat on the couch.

"Should I be scared?" He asked, only half joking.

"I don't think so."

"Thanks for the reassurance." He teased, sitting next to her.

"Deeks." Her tone changed as she said his name, no longer holding the humor and teasing from her previous comment.

"What's wrong?" He quickly became serious too.

"Nothing, I just, Mom and I were talking today and… I, wow, this was going better in my head." She confessed, dropping her gaze to her lap.

"Kensi? You're kind of freaking me out here. What's going on?"

"Deeks. You know I care about you right?" She looked up at him with doubt radiating from her eyes.

"Yeah, I mean, of course. I care about you too."

"I know you do. Really, I know. And I know you care about this baby."

"Meebs." He reminded her, smiling, trying to ease the tension that was riddling her body.

"Yeah. I know you care about Meebs. You're going to be a great dad."

"Have you been talking to Sam?" He interrupted.

"What? No. Why?"

"No reason." He brushed her off.

"Right, well, I just, I want you to be a part of Meebs' life," She paused, reaching her hands out and taking his, pulling their now connected hands into her own lap. "But I also want you to be a part of my life." She looked up at him.

"Kens, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yeah, I think so." She said shyly.

"I need you to say it Kens. Please." He closed his eyes, wishing, hoping.

"Deeks." When his eyes didn't open she tugged on his hands to get his attention. His gaze met hers again. "Can we give our 'thing' a go?"

The smile that broke across his face lit up the room and Kensi couldn't help the smile she returned to him. He sat there grinning at her like an idiot for several moments.

"Well?" She pushed when he still hadn't answered her.

Suddenly he was tugging her hands into his lap, effectively pulling her into him. One of his hands untangled from hers and his fingers were on her neck a second later, bringing her face to his. His lips touched hers and she all but folded into him, her hands migrating to his hair as he pulled her bottom lip gently between his teeth. She swirled her tongue over his upper lip and he opened to her, tugging her closer with a hand on her waist.

A few moments later he pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers. The hand on her waist drifted to her stomach. His eyes flittered between her face and where his hand rested.

"Can I? Please?" He all but begged, still slightly breathless from their mini make-out session. Kensi rolled her eyes playfully and moved back, leaning against the far arm of the couch. Deeks tugged the shirt out from where she had it tucked in, pushing it up and revealing the panel of her slightly showing tummy.

His hands framed her torso and he ran his thumbs reverently over her skin. She squirmed under his touch and he looked up at her.

"God help me Deeks, if you tickle me, I will kick you in the face." She warned, a grin still splayed wide across her features.

He smirked back at her before lowing his face and placing a gentle kiss to her tummy, just above her belly button. He kept his lips pressed to her skin for a few seconds before beginning to pepper her skin with more tender kisses.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Kensi giggled, his ministrations tickling her sensitive skin. He made no move to stop. "Deeks!"

His paused momentarily, glancing up at her, trying to gauge her level of seriousness. Deciding to throw caution to the wind he bent back down, blowing a loud raspberry against her stomach.

"You're dead!" She exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, pushing her shirt down and placing a hand on his shoulder to shove him backwards.

Deeks shrugged at her, grinning playfully.

"You like me."

"Sometimes." She agreed. "I, ah I got you something today. Kinda."

"How do you kind of get something for someone?" Deeks questioned, shuffling forward so he was sat directly next to her as she leaned over and into the bags on the ground.

"Well, technically it's for Meebs." She confessed, digging around before coming up triumphant with the plush lion in her hand.

"It's a lion." He grinned, taking it from her.

"It's a jungle cat." She corrected.

The smile he gave her for that just about split his face in two, and then his lips were on hers again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey beautiful people! This chapter is a bit longer than normal! Yay! **

**I'm starting to move into that "softer" side of Kensi and Deeks that's kind of starting to come through on the show now but please note, it's really not all rainbows and puppies from here. They still have challenges and there will still be drama. **

**Thanks to the amazing people who reviewed last chapter: Tilly33, LaJoyMechell, guesswhofern, Millennium Phoenix, Rach, Loving Them, chris4jag, homegrownoregano, BlueTigress, Smokesgirl, JenRar, Jammie13, mama's-broken-heart, Marta Kensi Deeks, and the four guests, especially the guest who is French and leaves the reviews in French! It's awesome. I try to figure out what they say then go to Google Translate to see how accurate I am!**

**Also, thanks again to the guest who pointed out the Aussie Slang in the last chapter (who probably didn't see the author's note I added after the review they left) I did go back and change that. Thanks! **


	9. Chapter 9

Kensi woke on Monday morning to a soft but persistent voice whispering. Her eyes still closed, she scrunched her nose and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get back to sleep. It was no use. Deeks' voice wafted into her ears.

"Mommy can teach you a lot about being tough. But don't be too tough alright Meebs? Mom will teach you all about how to deal with mean boys and how to shoot and how to hot wire a car and a plane. Don't ask her for cooking lessons though, okay? And I'll teach you how to clean while your Mom teaches you how to get out of your chores by making it look like you cleaned. And I'll teach you to surf. You're going to love the beach." He raved, laying half way off the bed so he was eye level with her stomach.

"What are you doing?" Kensi questioned sleepily, her eyes still closed.

"Talking to my progeny."

Kensi pried one eye open and tilted her head down to see his face.

"Progeny?"

"Yup." He popped the 'p'.

"What time is it?" Kensi asked, pushing herself up to sit against the headboard. Deeks shuffled up the bed, sitting across from her with on hand on her extended leg.

"About 6:30." He rubbed the hand on her leg up and down her calf.

"Ugh, why are you awake? Why am _I _awake?" She groaned, leaning her head back against the wall. There was a beat of silence."Right, that's why." And then she was up and walking towards the bathroom.

"You alright?" He called after her.

"Just gotta pee Deeks." She waved off his concern, closing the bathroom door.

She reentered the bedroom a few minutes later and started going through one of the shopping bags from Saturday's adventure with her mother. She pulled out a shirt and a pair of the maternity jeans.

Deeks had moved up the bed and was now resting against the headboard, mimicking Kensi's earlier position. He watched as she shucked his t-shirt over her head.

"I'm gonna go make us some breakfast." Deeks pushed up off the bed, striding out into the kitchen in his boxers and shirt before Kensi could say anything else.

She frowned to herself as he left the room. It was odd. He'd been all for making out on the couch and cuddling in bed but as soon as she tried to advance past that he backed off. Hell, last night she'd slept in his shirt - that barely came past her ass - and a pair of lace underwear that left little to the imagination.

She grabbed her bra and secured it around her chest before changing into the clothes she'd pulled out and following him into the kitchen.

"So…" She started.

"So?"

"Our thing."

"You mean our relationship?" He turned from where he'd just cracked two eggs into a fry pan and grinned at her.

"Yes Deeks. Our relationship." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"What about it?" He turned back to watch the eggs cook. When she didn't answer immediately he looked up at her again.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I feel like nothing's changed between us."

He flipped the eggs and put the spatula down on the counter before leaning against it to face her.

"Should something have changed?"

"You can't just keep answering a question with a question Deeks. We've talked about this." She furrowed her brow.

"Sorry. But technically you didn't ask a question." He defended.

"Fine. Shouldn't this feel different? I mean, I'm pregnant, we're dating but it doesn't feel any different to before."

"Does it need to feel different?" He challenged.

"Well, shouldn't it? We're going to be parents Deeks. _Parents_. And doesn't a relationship normally feel more…?"

"Relationshipy?"

"Yeah."

"Kens, I think we both know we've been in this for years even if we were refusing to put a label on it. And we are different. We're completely different to who we were when we first became partners or even just a year ago. We've been close for a long time." He checked the eggs, picking up the spatula and poking at them before taking the frypan off the hotplate. "A defined relationship between us is just a label."

"A label?"

"A label with benefits." He corrected himself.

"Mmm? What kind of benefits?"

"The kind where I get to cook you breakfast and you get to kiss this attractive face whenever you like." He smirked.

"I like the sound of those benefits. Are there more?" She stood from her seat seductively, approaching him with a sway in her step. She pushed herself up against him.

"Mmm, yes."

"Like?" Her hands reached up and wrapped around his neck.

"Like this." He leaned down and kissed her. "And this." He murmured against her lips as his hands reached around to slip into the back pockets of her jeans, making her startle slightly as he pulled her closer.

In retaliation her hands journeyed from his shoulders down his back; she skimmed her fingers under the waistband of his cotton boxers. His kisses became more aggressive as he pushed into her before he pulled back suddenly, taking his hands out of her jeans and pulling her into a too-tender hug.

"Breakfast is going to get cold."

"Deeks. What are you doing?"

"Ah, hugging you." He stated.

"Why?"

"Because I want to."

"Deeks, why are you holding back?" She pushed herself back from him but kept contact by way of her hands on his hips.

"I don't know what you mean." He lied.

"You do know what I mean. I expected you to jump me in the bedroom back there. Or last night for that matter. You're holding back. Why?"

"Well I just don't want to make you uncomfortable or pressure you or, I don't know, hurt the baby."

Her hands came up to frame his face.

"Deeks, you're sweet. An idiot, but sweet. You're not going to hurt me or the baby, unless you're pulling away from us. But don't pull back from me."

"Okay." He agreed.

"Okay." She echoed, stretching up to kiss him thoroughly. Mouths still attached she ran her fingers down his arms and twined their hands together, beginning to lead him backwards towards the bedroom again.

"Breakfast. And work." He tried to slow her down.

"Deeks." Her voice was thick with lust and warning.

"Right." He kissed her and began to follow her as she stepped back. "We'll pick something up on the way."

"Stop talking." She mumbled against his lips.

He dropped her hands and his palms found placement on her thighs. In a quick, smooth motion he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips.

"Yes Ma'am."

She growled against his mouth in the best kind of frustration as he steadily walked them back to the bedroom.

* * *

><p>"So, would you like to find out the gender?" Dr. Steindle asked a few weeks later.<p>

An eighteen week pregnant Kensi was laying on the table at her second trimester scan, her shirt pushed up around her breasts, left hand entwined with one of Deeks' while her right rested behind her head. She pulled her focus away from the screen momentarily to glance at her partner.

"Yes." Kensi said surely at the same time as Deeks said no.

This time she whipped around to face him and she cocked her head to the side.

"Really? You of all people don't want to know if Meebs is a boy or a girl? You, the man who, just last week, couldn't wait until you'd finished the box of cereal to find out what toy was in it so you emptied it into a separate bowl, got the toy out, and then put it all back in the box, wants to wait to find out the gender of his child?" Kensi challenged.

"To be fair, I needed to know if my collection was complete or if I needed to go buy more boxes before they changed them." He replied, holding a finger in the air to hush her objections. "And yeah. I want to wait." He shrugged.

"Why?" Her tone was curious as she ran her thumb across the back of Deeks' palm.

"I don't know. I want to be surprised I guess."

"So...?" Dr. Steindle, who'd been watching the amusing exchange, piped up.

"No. I think we'll wait." Kensi replied, holding eye contact with Deeks.

He smiled at her.

"Well, everything is looking pretty good here. Meebs is about five and a half inches long," As the doctor spoke, Deeks moved his thumb and forefinger apart to imitate the foetuses size.

"From what I can see here the placenta and umbilical cord are all fine, and the initial due date of the twelfth of January is pretty accurate. I'll print off some of the pictures we got earlier while you clean up." Dr. Steindle finished, handing Kensi a wipe.

* * *

><p>Kensi sat down on the beach watching her boyfriend of the past five and a half weeks paddle out into the depths of the ocean, ride a wave back in and repeat the process.<p>

He'd left her house this morning before she'd woken up and she'd found his scribbled note on her bedside table when her eyes had fluttered open a few hours later. She'd wolfed down a small breakfast because she was starving and then piled herself and Monty into her SRX.

Kensi took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air as Monty laid down at her side, done exploring for the moment. Her hand fell to pat the dog as she closed her eyes and held her face up to the sun.

"Hey, I thought I saw you pull up." Deeks' voice broke through the serene of the crashing waves and she opened her eyes to him.

"We thought we'd come grab breakfast with you."

"Don't you mean second breakfast?" He teased.

"Maybe." She replied, trying to contain her own smile.

"Hobbit." Deeks shook his head in amusement.

Deeks planted his board in the sand and fell down next to her with an exhausted grunt. He leaned over and kissed the side of her mouth before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss to her swollen, shirt-clad stomach.

"20 weeks today." Kensi told him as he sat upright again and bumped her good naturally with his damp shoulder. "Half way."

Deeks let out a low whistle. "Wow."

Kensi nodded absentmindedly, her focus drawn back out to the monotonous motions of the ocean.

"I was, uh, I was thinking the other day about what's gonna happen when we reach full time."

"Full time?" She murmured the question, only half paying attention to him, too busy enjoying the peaceful play before her eyes.

"Well, if it's half time now…" He tried to lead her to the conclusion.

"It's not a football game Deeks." She grinned at him. "But go on."

"Fine. I was thinking about when Meebs is born, what we're gonna do." He elaborated.

"In terms of what?" She shifted her focus, he had her attention now.

"In terms of living arrangements. I mean we can't keep this 3 nights at yours 3 nights at mine thing going when we've got a baby in the mix." He reasoned.

She considered him for a moment.

"I know." She agreed. "I don't want to move." She breathed out.

"Kens," The tone of his voice rang clear. He was going to argue her on this.

"I don't want to move." She repeated more forcefully this time.

"Your place isn't exactly ideal for a family of three Kensi."

Her heart fluttered slightly at his words. _Family_.

"I like my apartment Deeks. I've had my place since I started at NCIS. It's exactly how I wanted it." She knew he was right but she'd been putting off thinking about it.

"You've only got two rooms there. I'm not saying that you have to move in with me necessarily, I'm just saying that a three room place might be better. We could even find a place together. I've been looking online. With our combined income we can afford to lease a place for a few years and then, if you wanted, we could maybe buy a house. I know this is too early on in the relationship to be talking about buying a house together but a baby kind of moves the timeline up for a lot of things." Deeks rambled then paused to look at her. She was looking out at the waves again, nodding slowly but not necessarily agreeing.

Suddenly her eyes grew wide and her hands flew to her stomach.

"Kensi?!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not much to say this time guys other than there may be slightly fewer updates over the next two weeks (by that I mean that instead of updating on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and once on the weekend as I have been I may only post 2 chapters over the course of the week). I have reading week coming up which is both good and bad for MtM. Theoretically it means I have more time but I also have a lot of writing to do for college/uni (20 page short film script, 10 page short story, 1500 word essay) so it depends on how much time those things take up. I'll still be updating regularly though.**

**Thanks gorgeous angels for your lovely, kind reviews on chapter 8! These amazeballs people were: Littlemissjellybabies, LaJoyMechell, alex-russo-123, Jammie13, anonkp, Tilly33, kath46, homegrownoregano, Loz, Marta Kensi Deeks, guesswhofern, fanficforyou, Lovingthem, mama's-broken-heart, clumsyraine, Adriana Dricks, Rach, JaspersMum, JenRar, and the 4 guests!**

**Special shout out to those who have also added me on Tumblr and put up with my rants and raves about NCIS:LA (and those who discuss it with me!) You guys have given me over 50 followers in the past month!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Kens, what? What is it? Talk to me." Deeks' panic overwhelmed him. His hand splayed across Kensi's spine as she rubbed her stomach, shock on her face. Monty was sitting up, ears at attention, reading his masters' emotions. He let out a loud bark.

"I'm calling an ambulance." Deeks decided.

That got her attention. Kensi's left hand reached from her stomach to still Deeks' grab for his phone.

"I'm okay." She whispered, barely audible.

She ran her hand down his arm and wound her fingers through his.

"Kens?" Worry was still strongly tainting his voice.

"Meebs moved." She said reverently, finally turning her head to him, a large smile lighting up her face.

"Really?" The adrenaline started to drain from Deeks' form and a grin replaced his panicked expression.

"Yeah." She gripped his hand tighter. "I mean, it wasn't big or anything, just a flutter, but it was there."

The hand not holding Kensi's spread over her slightly protruding belly and he leaned in, slanting his lips over hers. She kissed him back with ferocity, her other hand leaving her stomach to cup his scruffy cheek. She pulled back slightly, leaning her forehead on his.

"You're right." She agreed regretfully.

"Wow. Are you sure you're okay? Did you hear what you just said?" Deeks teased, bringing a hand up to mock-examine her face.

"Deeks." She shoved his shoulder gently.

"What am I right about now?" He asked proudly.

"Our living arrangements."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Do we have to decide right now? I mean we have another four months right?" Her hand fell back to Monty who was beginning to calm down again.

Deeks looked at her skeptically, trying to read how much of her hesitation was fear and doubt. "Can you give me a few weeks to process?" She requested.

"Okay. A few weeks."

His hand travelled across her back to her shoulder and he tugged her into him. She went willing despite his still-damp state, leaning her head against his neck as he craned down to kiss her crown.

"So what are we having for second breakfast today?" His mouth was by her ear as he said it and she shuddered a little.

"I was thinking that little cafe, you know, with the really good eggs?" She suggested.

"Sounds good." Deeks stood, extending a hand down to help her up. She'd just made it to her feet when her eyes closed again as another flutter rippled through her abdomen.

She pulled Deeks' arm into her body, hugging it tightly and pressing herself up against him.

"I can't wait to feel Meebs kick." He pressed his lips firmly to her forehead.

"I can't wait til you can feel this too. It's kind of amazing." She gushed, still awestruck and holding tight to him.

"Let's go get some breakfast." He linked their fingers together as she released his arm, grabbing his board with the other and whistling to Monty who'd gone to investigate some shells a few yards away. He came trotting up behind them before falling into step with them at Kensi's side as they walked up the beach.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think of Horrace?" Deeks asked two weeks later. He sat at his desk, ignoring his paperwork and running his fingers over the ultra sound picture that sat proudly against his name plate. He was teasing her. He'd found her pouring over baby name websites a few days earlier but refused to put in suggestions of his own.<p>

"No." Kensi replied immediately, not even bothering to raise her eyes from her work to look at him.

"What about Angus, oh or Bessie!"

"My child is not going to be named after a cow." This time she did look up at him, trying to gauge whether his intent. His face was blank of emotion though.

"How about Eunice?" Callen suggested, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"Or Humphrey." Sam joined in.

Kensi's glare pointedly moved from Callen to Sam and back.

"Thanks, he really needed your help." She rolled her eyes at them.

"Well, what do you want to name it?"

"Meebs isn't an it." Deeks reminded Callen.

"Yeah, I'm not calling Kensi's stomach Meebs and you refuse to tell us if it's a boy or a girl."

"I have a list of names but Deeks won't even look at it." Kensi defended.

"Why?" Sam looked at the shaggy detective.

Deeks shrugged. "I haven't finished my list yet. I don't want to be influenced."

Sam turned back to Kensi.

"What are your top three?" He asked.

"Blake, Andrew, Brooke." Kensi listed, counting the names off on her fingers.

"They're pretty good." Callen complimented.

"Thanks." Kensi smiled proudly, returning her gaze to Deeks.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What are your top three?" She prodded.

"I told you, I haven't finished the list."

"But surely you have three."

"Oh, I've had more than three." His eyebrows danced suggestively.

"Oh…" Callen winced while Sam let out a low whistle.

"What now?"

"Wrong person to say that to." Sam grinned, nodding his head in Kensi's direction. She was staring daggers at Deeks.

"Ah, I mean, I've only had one that matters." He tried to backpedal.

Kensi sighed. "Top three baby names. Go." She instructed.

"I have two." He was squirming in his seat.

"Surely they can't be that bad. Come on Deeks, spill."

"Alex and Amirah." He mumbled reluctantly.

Kensi looked at him. He was trying to play it down, come off casual but his eyes betrayed him. There was vulnerability there, the kind that told her, if she shot him down or pulled any of their normal banter, no matter how well meaning, it would hurt him. Probably more than he'd ever let on.

She could feel Sam and Callen's eyes on her, awaiting her reaction, seemingly ready to take her lead.

"I like them." She said simply, looking back down at her computer and typing out a few words under the guise of getting back to work. She heard rather than saw Sam and Callen move back to their own work and her eyes came up to grab Deeks' again. She tossed him a smile and a wink, watching as his face broke into a small smile of his own. He held her eyes for a moment before going back to work himself.

A few minutes later an email from Deeks popped up on her screen.

_Amirah - Princess_

_Alex - Defender of Man_

_Either way, named in honour of the strongest person I know._

Wow, he was going soft and sappy on her a lot lately. It was sweet and she was surprised at how much it didn't make her want to puke. In fact it made her heart stutter and the small life growing insider her flutter more times than not. It was all she could do not to get up from her chair and reward him with a kiss right there in the middle of the bullpen.

She hit reply quickly and typed back.

_Amirah Martine Deeks_

_Alexander Andrew Deeks_

_Either way, named after the best man I know._

She heard his computer ding with the notification a few seconds after she hit send. She peeked across the top of her own laptop. She saw his face turn a delightful shade of pink and he contorted his mouth, trying to hold back the extent of the grin threatening to split his face. He didn't look up at her though. He took a deep breath and went back to work. She did the same shortly after.

* * *

><p>She leaned against the table in ops, one hand on her 24 week old bump and the other winding in the necklace that had been hanging between her breasts since her birthday eight weeks ago. Sam and Callen stood to the side while Deeks was to her right but a few steps in front of her. His eyes were focussed determinedly on the screen and the briefing Eric, Nell, and Hetty were giving about the long time arms dealer who'd stolen weapons from a recent shipment to Camp Pendleton.<p>

The dealer's gang was known by the LAPD for their recruitment of kids as young as ten and for their side drug business that was steadily growing.

Kensi toyed with the charm on the necklace, losing focus on the briefing, her mind wandering back to the night she'd received it.

* * *

><p><em>"Do you mind if I borrow Kensi for a few moments?" Julia asked Deeks.<em>

_The three of them were sat around Julia's dining room table celebrating Kensi's birthday._

_"Not a problem. I'll clear the plates."_

_"That's not necessary." Julia tried to assure her daughter's new boyfriend._

_"It's not a problem." He shrugged, standing and collecting all their plates from the table._

_"Thanks Marty. Kens, come in here."_

_Kensi followed her mother into the master bedroom and waited by the bed as Julia pulled a box from her bedside drawer and came to meet her._

_"I know you, my girl." Julia started, holding the box and sitting down on the edge of the bed, motioning for Kensi to do so as well. "I know that you loved your dad more than anything in this world. I know that you miss him and, especially now, you wonder what he would say to you. He was always so proud of you and of everything you accomplished. He'd be so proud of you now, the job you have, the family you're starting. He would've given Marty a hard time but he would've loved his sense of humour."_

_Kensi's eyes were welling up with tears as her mother spoke._

_"When I was pregnant with you, your dad would come home each night and talk to you. I hated it. He would make me sit on the couch for a good half hour every day while he talked to you, almost completely ignoring me." She laughed and Kensi laughed with her. "One day he came home with this silver band. Baby jewellery. He was sentimental like that."_

_Kensi nodded, thinking about the sniper journal that had come into her possession a few years earlier. "Yeah." She agreed._

_"He had to go on a mission. He didn't know if he was going to be home in time for your birth and so he gave me this. By some miracle he got home three weeks before you arrived. When you and I left, the band was still in my jewellery box. And then you left too." Julia paused for a moment, taking a second to mask the pain of the memory of losing her daughter. "Anyway, I wanted you to have this because I can guarantee you, if he were still here, he'd be forcing you to sit down on that couch and talking to your stomach for hours on end every change he got. Happy birthday Kensi."_

_Julia opened the long box and pulled out the band. She'd put it on a long chain. She stood, putting it over her daughter's head. It was plain and small, Kensi could only fit three fingers into it._

_"Thanks Mom." Kensi was well and truly crying now, the tears leaving streaks of eye make up down her cheeks. "I love you. And I miss him so much." She leaned forward to hug her mother._

_"I know you do baby girl." Julia rubbed Kensi's back for a few moments. "I'm going to check on Marty in the kitchen. Make sure he hasn't worked himself too hard. Do you want me to send him in?"_

_Kensi shook her head no, wiping at her cheeks as best she could as Julia stood and left her daughter to compose herself again._

_A few seconds later there was a knock at the door bedroom door and Deeks was sticking his head in._

_Kensi laughed a watery chuckle at her mother's lack of subtlety._

_Without a word he came and sat on the bed next to her, reaching his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest._

_"It's okay." He murmured, running his hand through her hair. "We got you, don't we Meebs?" He tilted his face towards her stomach. It brought on a smile and a fresh wave of tears._

* * *

><p>"Mr. Deeks, I understand now would be a hard time for you to go on a long term undercover mission. I'm leaving it to you as to whether or not you want to take part however, I will mention that as you already have a history with this group, you are the best candidate for the mission."<p>

Kensi re-entered the conversation just as Hetty finished her speech. Deeks looked back at his girlfriend, his eyes conflicted between staying with her and taking the undercover op. With pursed lips she nodded at him, closing her eyes as she did so. Deeks turned back to face Hetty.

"I'm in. When do I leave?"

"There's chatter about a deal going down as early as tomorrow or as late as November so we'd want you to infiltrate as soon as possible. You'll be leaving today, as soon as Eric and Nell have finished your backstopping. Callen will be your handler for this operation. Once you're in and they've checked you out we'll get comms set up for you. Miss Blye will be advising from ops throughout the operation." Hetty informed.

Deeks nodded. "We'll meet you down at wardrobe." He stated, no quips or jokes, mind already focussed on the mission. Hetty nodded her consent and Deeks took a step back, putting a hand on Kensi's elbow and guiding her out of ops and down the stairs.

"What's your cover?" Kensi asked when they were in wardrobe, she was looking at the array of clothes on the rack.

"Mark Austin. Low-life who had a hard childhood. Got brought into gang life early. I went in with them for three months when I was with LAPD. Got in through a referral from another undercover who'd been in longer. That op was focussed on shutting down a number drug rings. Things started to turn pear shaped and the undercover who vouched for me was made. They killed him. Somehow I got out with my cover still in tact. As far as they know I've been in jail for the past few years." Deeks state plainly, already trying to get into character in his head.

"As soon as they've clear you, you get that earwig off Sam and Callen and put it in your ear. I'm going to be with you each step of the way." Kensi assured.

"I know you will Kens." He let a small smile slip. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise Deeks. This is who you are. This is who _we _are. It's what we do and having a baby isn't going to change that for us any more than it did for Sam and Michelle. Meebs, Monty and I will be fine until you get back. You just have to take care of yourself, alright?"

Deeks was about to reach forward and pull her into a hug when Hetty appeared at the door. Kensi strode across to him, taking his hand for a moment as she passed.

"Come say goodbye before you leave." She requested.

"Of course."

Kensi squeezed his hand once and left her boyfriend and her boss alone to prep for the mission.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hi all! So most of you called me on the last chapter. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to Meebs! And although the idea did enter my head for about ten minutes, I promise not to kill Deeks either. I know it's a bit cliche to have Deeks go onto a mission while Kensi is pregnant but I hoping do do things a little differently that most and I'm planning on using it as a plot and character development device throughout the rest of the fic. **

**Thank you to everyone for your kind support last chapter. The amazing magnificent people who left reviews were as follows: canonise, kaaw, Littlemissjellybabies, homegrownoregano, LaJoyMechell, JenRar, Rach, JaspersMum, Marta Kensi Deeks, trombonegirl85, Jammie13, fanficforyou, Hoosier65, and the two guests. **

**Your kind words make my day!**


	11. Chapter 11

Kensi sat on her couch, Monty by her side, and flicked through the channels futilely, searching for something to distract her. Deeks had been under for three days now. He hasn't missed a check-in and she'd gotten a chance to talk to him though comms, even if he hadn't been able to reply. Everything seemed to be going exactly to plan for the moment but Kensi couldn't help but feel off. Something just wasn't sitting right with her.

She'd been kicked out of the mission two hours earlier with instructions to go home, rest up, and be ready to aid the operation from the ops centre the next day. She'd scoffed at the thought on the drive home. Ready for tomorrow? Ready for what? Another day sitting at a computer doing research on the gang Deeks was in with. Even if something did go down it wasn't as though she'd be jumping in the car to have his back.

Frustrated, she flicked off the television and aggressively threw the remote at the coffee table. Monty's head popped up at the sound of plastic colliding with wood.

"Sorry boy." Kensi apologised, scratching the mutt's head as he settled back down again.

She gave up on her quest for distraction and stood, starting to pace around her house, trying to expel some of the pent up energy she'd gained from sitting on her ass all day. After lapping her kitchen, living room and bathroom three times Kensi finally came to a stop at the door to her spare room.

She opened it and looked at the carnage. Kicking a couple of boxes to the side, she made enough space to sit on the floor. Monty came and joined her a few moments later.

"If I didn't know better I'd think Deeks trained you to do that." She muttered to Monty who paid her no mind.

Leaning forward slightly she wrapped her hands around her ever-growing stomach.

"Your dad is right Meebs. Don't tell him I said that, it'll go to his head if he knows I said it more than once in a single week." She let out a sigh. "We can't live amongst all this, hell, I can barely live amongst all this. Get me at home more than two days in a row and I go mad at my own clutter." She rubbed the top of her belly. "Your dad may be right about my hoarding tendencies too. Don't tell him I said that either. That goes for you too Monty. Not a word to Callen or Sam either."

Kensi placed her hands behind her, leaning back to gaze at the room. Her old lounge chair, piled with out-of-date magazines, everything from Cosmo to Sniper Magazine, sat in the corner. There were boxes everywhere. Most of it was stuff she brought from her last place and just never bothered to unpack. She hadn't looked at the majority of it in years. Behind a pile of boxes marked 'to donate' she spied a stack of flat boxes leaning against the wall.

She eyed them for a few minutes thinking. Then she stood abruptly.

"Come on Monty, help me out." The dog looked at her lazily as she grabbed the boxes and dragged them to her bedroom.

* * *

><p>It was going on 12am when Kensi pulled up at Deeks' apartment. She let Monty out from the back seat and he followed her to the front door, eagerly making his way to his dog bed as soon as the door opened.<p>

With the house unlocked and the dog safely inside Kensi returned to her car. It took her eight trips back and forth to bring in all the boxes, being careful not to overdo it with the lifting. She piled them in the hallway, locking the door behind herself with the last load she brought in.

She wiped her brow with her sleeve and ventured further inside, bypassing the master bedroom and heading towards the two doors that stood on opposite sides of the hall. She'd stayed in the spare room once a few years back but mostly she'd slept on the couch on the movie nights that had turned into mornings. She didn't even know what Deeks kept in the other room.

Monty was by her side again as she turned the knob to the mystery room. She grinned when she opened the door. All of Deeks' surfing equipment occupied the space. Seven different boards hung on the walls in purpose built hooks and there was even a small trophy shelf by the window.

"Not this room, hey Monty? I don't think even Meebs and I could get away with disturbing his surfing room." She joked.

Moving across the hall she opened the other door wide. Aside from the uncomfortable futon on the far wall and the pile of baby stuff he'd revealed to her several weeks ago, the room was pretty clear. She patted Monty on the head, leaving momentarily to grab her laptop before coming back and taking a seat on the hard blue futon and patting the place next to her, encouraging Monty to join her.

"Let's see what we can find." She patted the dog's head as her computer started up.

She started Googling and two hours later she was asleep, the laptop forgotten on the floor, Monty at her side, and several hundred dollars billed to her credit card.

* * *

><p>The shrill ring of her cell woke her a mere four hours later.<p>

"Kensi." She muttered into the phone, not even bothering to check the caller I.D..

"Kens, we need you in ops." Nell's voice, clear and awake, broke Kensi from her sleep induced fog and she sat bolt upright.

"Deeks?" Panic rippled through the word. She was already grabbing her keys and go bag when she registered Nell's voice in her ear again.

"He's absolutely fine Kens. Take a breath. Deeks checked in right on time. There's a sale going down this evening and we want everyone briefed ASAP."

Kensi sucked in a lungful of air and felt her pulse slow again.

"I'll be there in 20."

She hung up and shucked her shirt from the day before, pulling on a clean one from the pile of shared laundry in the basket, not bothering to change her jeans. She drove to the mission half in a daze, thinking back to earlier in the week when he left.

* * *

><p><em>Deeks emerged from wardrobe in ripped jeans and a dark jacket. <em>

_"__You're gonna cook in that in this heat." Kensi piped up._

_"__Sells the cover though, don't ya think?" He winked and twirled dramatically so she could check him out. _

_"__It better." Her tone was teasing but there was real concern in her eyes. _

_Deeks walked around so he was next to her and extended his hand. She took it and he tugged. _

_"__Come on."_

_"__Where are we going?" She stood and started to follow before he answered. _

_"__To say goodbye." Deeks paused. "Wow, that sounded morbid." He chuckled. _

_"__A little." Kensi laughed._

_He dragged her into the burn room and shut the door. _

_"__You know what I'm going to say don't you?" She deadpanned as he turned to face her._

_"__You don't like that I'm going in alone."_

_"__I don't like that you're going in without your partner as immediate back up." She corrected. _

_"__I promise to keep my promise. I won't die." His hands stretched forward to grasp her shoulders._

_"__Don't get injured either, alright. I don't want to spend more time in a hospital than strictly necessary."_

_"__I'll do my best. Sam and Callen will have my back."_

_"__I know." She looked at her feet and then up at him. "How long until you leave?"_

_Deeks checked his watch. "Five minutes." When he caught her eyes again he found tears there._

_"__Are you crying Fern?" There was a hint of a teasing tone in his voice._

_"__No." She said defensively. "It's the stupid hormones. Shut up." She shrugged his hands off his shoulders in annoyance at his smirk. _

_He pulled her into him insistently, hugging her tightly as her arms wound around his back. He buried his face in her neck and brushed his lips against the skin he found there before pulling back. _

_He crouched in front of her and lifted her shirt, his hands resting tenderly on either side of her bump._

_"__Take care of your Mom for me, alright Meebs? I'll be back soon." He swore, leaning forward to place a long kiss just below her belly button. _

_Above him Kensi laughed a watery chuckle. _

_Not bothering to pull her shirt down again Deeks stood to be eye level with her, hands still resting on her belly._

_"__I'll be back soon." He promised her. "You won't even miss me. You'll be glad to be rid of me." He joked._

_"__You better be home soon." Ignoring his attempts at light heartedness she lifted her hands to frame his face, fingers gliding tenderly along his jaw. Lifting on her toes slightly to match his height she leanedd in, kissing him soundly. _

_He pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. _

_"__Kens, I-"_

_"__Don't." She interrupted. "Not now. Not because you feel like you have to, just in case it's your last chance. It's not." She shook her head adamantly at him._

_"__But…" He tried to object._

_"__I know. I know but if you say it because you feel like you have to it means that you think there's a possibility that you won't come home and that's not going to happen. Tell me when you get back, it can be the first words out of your mouth when you come home." _

_Deeks sighed. _

_"__Okay." He agreed. _

_"__Okay."_

_"__And when I get back, we sort out our apartments."_

_"__Yes. I'll go pick Monty up after work too." Kensi told him._

_He kissed her again. _

_"__I gotta go." He paused for a beat. "I really want to say it Kensi." He practically begged._

_She pursed her lips and scrunched her nose but it was all for show. "Fine." Her wide grin gave away her exacerbated tone. _

_His hands moved from her stomach to her face, holding her gaze with his own. _

_"__I love you."_

_"__I love you too." She echoed softly before he engulfed her mouth in another deep kiss. They were just beginning to get carried away when their phones beeped with a new message, most likely informing them that their five minutes were up. _

_He pulled her shirt back down and they walked out of the burn room hand in hand._

* * *

><p>Kensi pulled into the mission, gathering her things from her front seat and stepping out of the car. She had just about made it to the doors when a strong arm wrapped around her while another hand blocked her instinctive punch to her assailants face, calloused fingers wrapping tightly around her fist.<p>

"Morning Princess." He grinned into her ear, taking advantage of his position and placing an open mouth kiss against her cheek.

She relaxed into him briefly before pushing away so she could turn to face him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Briefing for the raid." He stated obviously.

"But Nell didn't mention…"

"I asked her not to." He grinned, taking her hand. "We should head in though."

She smiled despite herself and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. As she retreated his hand reached to her face, running a thumb under her right eye and over the dark bags he saw there.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just didn't get much sleep last night. Late night, early wake up call this morning." She brushed off his concern and started to walk towards the doors, pulling him along with her.

"Not sleeping without me?" He fell back on teasing instead of pushing her.

"Something like that." She indulged. She wasn't sure why, but she was embarrassed by her actions the night before and she really didn't want to get into the details of it right now.

Deeks left it alone. He was aware that they didn't have time for him to pry at her answers at the moment.

The pair entered ops hand in hand and Nell began the briefing.

"Deeks infiltrated the group quicker than expected. Their trust in him had them revealing their sales plan last night over drinks. The sale will be going down near and old warehouse in the industrial distract at six tonight."

At Nell's signal, Eric brought a schematic of the building up on the big screen.

"As far as I know, we're meeting the buyers here." Deeks took over, pointing to an alley between two large, industrial buildings.

"Sam will be stationed here," Nell pointed to a corner of the building. "Callen will be out the front here. SWAT will also be on stand by but we're hoping we won't need that much fire power. LAPD will be backing us up too." Nell finished.

"I could take overwatch." Kensi interjected. "I'd be away from the danger and there are plenty of good spots on these roofs that provide cover and would give me a good angle." She tried to reason.

Deeks squeezed her hand but it was Hetty who shot her down.

"I'm afraid I can't authorise you to do that Miss Blye. You'll be assisting via comms with Mr. Beale. Miss Jones will be assisting Mr. Hanna and Mr. Callen in the field."

"Hetty -"

"Mr. Deeks, please run us through the plan." Hetty interrupted, moving the conversation forward before Kensi could voice her objections further.

* * *

><p>Kensi paced back and forth up in ops, impatiently willing time to pass quicker. It was just before five; Sam, Callen, and Nell were in position waiting for their targets to arrive. Deeks was back under, earwig in his ear but no camera.<p>

"Do you want to sit?" Eric offered Kensi.

"I'm fine." She replied.

"Your pacing is kind of nauseating Kens." He pushed.

"Sorry." She smiled at him guiltily. "I, ah, I might just head to the bathroom.

Eric nodded and turned back to the computer.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Beale, where's Miss Blye?" Hetty queried as she entered ops.<p>

"Ah, bathroom I think." He replied, turning to glance around the room only to find Kensi hadn't returned.

"How long has she been in the bathroom?" Hetty pushed.

Eric glanced at the time on the monitor.

"About thirty minutes." He said, slightly defeatedly.

"Damn it." Hetty mumbled under her breath. "Call her."

The sound of Kensi's phone ringing out soon filled the operations centre. She answered on the fifth ring.

"Agent Blye, where, pray tell, are you?"

"I just stepped out for some air Hetty." Kensi answered, her voice had a stubborn ring to it that Hetty recognised well and wind was blowing through the receiver.

The operations manager sighed.

"Do you have a clear sight?"

"Crystal."

"We will be discussing this in length when the mission is completed Agent Blye." Hetty said sternly.

"Understood." Kensi's stiff reply was accompanied by the tell tale clicks of her assembling her rifle.

"Eric, bring Kensi in on Comms."

Eric typed away and gave heading a go ahead nod.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Blye will be in overwatch for this mission. She's been brought in on Comms."

"I'm on the North East building with a clear line of sight into the alley." Kensi confirmed to the rest of the team.

Deeks could be heard coughing violently through his mic, unable to actually say anything to her. Sam made up for it though.

"Kensi, what are you doing?"

"Having my partner's back." She replied simply.

"We will discuss this at a later date. For now, focus on the task at hand. Mr. Deeks' GPS indicates the sellers should be arriving any minute now." Hetty instructed.

No sooner had she said it when Kensi spied a black SUV pulling into the alleyway from the South West entrance. She lay against the hard concrete, careful of her stomach, and gazed down the scope and watched as her boyfriend exiting the car with three other men.

"I've got three sellers, not including Deeks." She reported.

"Copy that." Callen's voice came through the line.

The team sat waiting for another ten minutes until a blue sedan pulled in.

"We've got the buyers coming in now." Sam said, spying the car that had just driven past his hiding spot.

"We wait for the deal to go down and when they start to head their separate ways we block them off and take them separately. Deeks, I don't want you to break cover unless you have to, we still have the drug ring to take down." Callen instructed.

Resounding 'copies' came through the system just as the buyers stepped out of the car.

"Crap." Deeks' voice echoed in their ears as Kensi spied one of the buyers raising a gun on her boyfriend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey all, sorry about the lack of weekend update. As I said earlier, I've got a lot of other projects in the works. Chapter 12 should be up sometime this week though, probably Friday or Saturday at this stage. **

**As always, reviews are what motivate me. As I was trying to finish off this chapter here another one came through and it really does put a smile on my face and makes me get my butt into gear and write.**

**My heroes from last chapter were: homegrownoregano, db1205, Sweetlilloz, alex-russo-123, Jammie13, LaJoyMechell, mama's-broken-heart, Rach, McDimples, Marta Kensi Deeks, Blue Tigress, Littlemissjellybabies, Adriana Dricks, Hoosier65 and two guests!**

**Also, this story recently broke through 200 followers and I wanted to say a big thanks to you guys too! **


	12. Chapter 12

"What the hell? You stupid or something? You brought a pig to the sale!" Lucas Barnes trained his rifle on Deeks and his three men followed suit.

"What are you talking about?" Benny pulled his own gun, aiming in the direction of the buyer.

"You're trying to set me up! He's a cop!"

"What's he talking about Mark?" Five guns were trained on Deeks now.

"I swear, I have no idea what he's on about Benny." Deeks tried to maintain his cover.

_"__Everyone hold their positions_._"_ Callen instructed through comms.

_"__I have a shot."_ Kensi replied.

_"__Hold your position."_ Callen repeated.

"Benny, you moron! He's an undercover pig! This is a set up!" Barnes yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth as he waved his weapon back and forth between Deeks and Benny.

Deeks raised his hands above his head as Benny's men brought their guns up too.

_"__Guys."_ Kensi's concerned voice filled the earwig in Deeks' ear.

"There's been a misunderstanding. You've got the wrong person. I've been in San Quentin for the past 7 years." Deeks was backing away from the group now, trying to position himself so that he could find cover quickly if this escalated much further.

"Stop moving!" Barnes screamed. "I'm not mistaken. I remember you. You took me and my brother down, what, 10 years ago? My brother's dead cause of you! Got shived."

"I'm sorry 'bout your brother dude but I swear —"

"If you deny it again I will put this bullet through your skull!" Barnes yelled.

Benny and his team were moving to face Deeks now too. With seven guns drawn on him Deeks was starting to sweat. Barnes approached him, ramming his gun into Deeks' temple.

"Where's your back up? Huh? You wearing a wire, pig?"

"I swear to god—"

"NO!" Barnes screamed in his face. "You tell them to stand down. NOW! They drop their guns and reveal themselves or you're a stain on the pavement. You hear me?!"

Deeks remained silent, weighing his options, assessing the situation and trying to formulate a plan.

_"__SWAT is in position_." Callen confirmed. _"Still got the shot Kens?"_

_"__Affirmative."_ Kensi's confident voice rang through.

_"__Sam? Nell?"_ Callen queried.

_"__In position." _ Sam answered for both of them.

_"__Deeks, we do this on your signal. Once Kensi takes the shot, you find cover."_

"Do it pig!" Barnes hit Deeks across the face with the gun.

Kensi watched through the scope as her partner worked his jaw. He raised his hands higher, taking another two steps back towards the car.

"Stop moving!" Barnes yelled as Deeks opened his mouth.

"Kens!"

The sniper bullet pierced Barnes' heart. Kensi was quick to reload and take aim at the next target, Benny, who was quickly following to where Deeks had dived behind the car.

Meanwhile Sam, Callen, Nell and SWAT were advancing on the two groups of criminals.

The gang bangers began to lower their weapons as SWAT closed in around them.

_"__You bastard!" _Benny's voice cut through the commotion over comms as he advanced on Deeks.

_"__I don't have eyes on Benny and Deeks!_" Kensi all but yelled, her heart hammering hard in her chest as she tried to calm herself, taking deep breaths, preparing to take another shot.

_"__Drop it Benny!" _Sam demanded.

There were two shots then silence radiated through the earwigs.

_"__We got it under control. Eric, do you have a medic standing by?" _Sam finally broke the silence.

_"__On their way in now."_ Eric confirmed.

_"__Deeks?"_ Kensi questioned, sitting up frothier rifle.

_"__I'm good Kens. You good?"_

She sighed as she heard his voice.

_"__I'm good if you're good."_

As her pulse began to lower again her stomach flipped. It wasn't the usual flutter she'd become accustom to over the past few weeks. She leaned forward slightly, placing her hands on her belly. As her palm rubbed over her left side she realised she could feel Meebs move against her palm. She grinned to herself, still riding high on the adrenaline dump from moments ago.

Kensi took her time making her way from the rooftop to the alleyway, sniper slung across her back as she descended the stairs. Upon reaching the alleyway she immediately regretted dawdling.

Deeks was sitting in the back of an ambulance, an EMT tending to him. She picked up her feet and rushed over to him. He was holding an ice pack to his face and as she got closer she spied a white gauze bandage wrapped around his bicep.

"You said you were good!" She accused, coming to stand in front of him. The EMT patted Deeks' forearm lightly in a 'good luck' gesture before leaving the couple alone.

Deeks tossed the ice pack into the ambulance as he stood, coming toe to toe with his partner.

"I _am _good." He assured, reaching the hand of his uninjured arm to touch her wrist.

"Obviously not!" She gestured to the bandage and his face, resisting the urge to shove on his shoulder.

"It's just a graze Kens. Didn't even need stitches."

She considered him for a moment.

"Tell me next time." She requested softly.

"Okay." He agreed. "Do we get to talk about you now?"

She shook her head.

"Not yet." She stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck while his found home around her waist. She knew an argument was brewing between them over her actions but she really didn't want to fall into that right now. Instead she pulled herself closer so her baby bump was firmly pressed into his stomach.

"Meebs is happy you're okay too."

"Yeah?" He pressed a kiss to her hair.

"He kicked; properly kicked."

"He?" Deeks wondered if Kensi knew something he didn't.

"Better than it." She explained. "But Meebs kicked. Like a really-hard, could-feel-it-with-my-palm kicked."

She relished the way his eyes lit up as he pushed away from their embrace to kneel in front of her, hands pressed reverently to her stomach.

"Hey Meebs. Been a while since was had a proper chat, hey?" He kissed her shirt-covered belly and she bit her lip to contain her smile. He stayed down there for a few minutes but Meebs was still. Kensi watched as his face began to fall.

"It'll happen again." She promised. He nodded, placed one more kiss to her belly, and stood.

Callen and Sam approached and Kensi and Deeks put a respectable amount of distance between their bodies.

"You two head back. We'll work everything out here with LAPD. Hetty's going to want to speak with you Kens."

At Callen's words Kensi crossed her ams over her chest, adopting a defensive stance. Before she could speak however, Deeks was walking away towards the car.

"Thanks guys. We'll catch you later. C'mon Kens." He called back to her.

* * *

><p>Kensi had sat silently through Hetty's reprimands. Deeks had slipped away, most likely to shower and change, when they had arrived back at the mission. Meanwhile, Kensi had been called into Hetty's office and chewed out. She'd been suspended, starting in five weeks time, effectively extending her planned maternity leave.<p>

Once Hetty was finished Kensi had apologised, she promised it wouldn't happen again though neither woman really believed it. Kensi then stalked towards the gym to find her boyfriend.

* * *

><p>He emerged from the shower, a towel slung low around his waist and another around his neck. He whistled to himself, one hand reaching up to pass the towel though his hair.<p>

"Hey." Kensi all but whispered.

Deeks startled initially, having completely missed the lone figure sitting on the bench at the end of the row of lockers. He didn't turn to face her.

"You know this is the _men's_ locker room right?"

"I saw the sign on the door." She shrugged indifferently.

"Okay. Just wanted to make sure you weren't lost." He opened his locker door and pulled out a clean set of clothes, dropping them to the bench behind him.

Tense silence hung in the air as Deeks got dressed. He was fastening his watch when he heard Kensi expel a long, loud breath.

"Say it."

"Say what?" He asked, exhaustion and thinly veiled frustration filling his tone. He knew they had to talk about this but he would have really prefered if they didn't.

Whatever it is you're going to say." Her tone and posture was cold and defensive, ready for war.

"You already know what I want to say so what's the point?" He parried.

"Deeks." She pushed.

"You were stupid and reckless today Kensi." He sounded defeated as he finally broke his stoic silence on the matter. He sat down on the bench so they were five feet apart and facing opposite directions.

"Okay."

"That's all you have to say? Okay?" Deeks challenged. "You put yourself and our child in harm's way today. You went against protocol, against Hetty, behind everyone's back, including mine." He ranted, voice slightly raised but not yelling.

"I wasn't putting myself or Meebs in danger. I was in overwatch. I wasn't anywhere near any of the gunfire."

"And what if they'd had their own snipers on that roof Kens? You went up without backup, without even telling anyone where you were going!"

"No one would've let me go if I had!" Kensi's knuckles were turning white as she gripped onto the bench, trying to contain some of her anger and frustration.

"For good reason!" Deeks rebutted.

"I can take care of myself!" She stated stubbornly.

"I know that. Everyone knows that! Kensi Kickass Blye doesn't need anyone or anything. She can take care of herself. But Kensi, it's not just you anymore! What are you going to do when the baby is born? Huh? Run into battle with Meebs strapped to your chest in one of those baby carrier pouch things made of Kevlar?" His voice was getting louder, more frustrated and he stood from the bench to stalk towards his partner.

"No! But I'm sure as hell not going to be sitting on my ass at home all day, every day for the next eighteen years either! I would never purposefully put our child in danger anymore than I would ever purposefully put you in danger but I'm not just going to be some 50's house wife either Deeks!" She was on her feet now too, waving her arms expressively as she argued.

"I know you wouldn't do it purposefully. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about you making stupid, reckless decisions on a whim, without thinking them through."

"If you think I'm that careless you don't know or trust me as well as I thought you did. If you think I went up on that roof today on a whim…" Her face was beet red and she was fighting back angry tears threatening to fall. Her uncontrollable watery eyes only served to make her more mad. "And what would've happened today if I hadn't been there? If I hadn't had your back?"

"I had plenty of back up." Deeks rationalised.

Kensi threw her hands in the air and lowered her voice.

"I'm done. We need to talk more about this but not today. I'm tired. Your tired. We need space. I'm going home. To my place. Don't follow me. I'll text you later."

Some of the tension dissipated out of the room at Kensi's resignation.

"Okay." Deeks agreed, nodding. "Talk tomorrow?"

"Talk tomorrow." Kensi confirmed, leaving Deeks alone in the locker rom with little more than a small forced smile in leu of a goodbye.

* * *

><p>He was surprised when he opened his apartment door to find Monty, who greeted him excitedly.<p>

"Hey Buddy." He petted the pooch. "I thought you were at Kensi's. Whatcha doing here? Hey?"

Monty's only response was to lick Deeks' hand.

Deeks strolled through to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, gazed at the food in there before deciding he wasn't hungry. He was too lazy to cook and too tired to stay awake and wait for delivery to arrive. He grabbed a bottle of water off the bench and downed it in three gulps.

"I don't know about you Monty, but I'm beat."

The dog followed him towards his room. The pair were just about to enter the master bedroom when Deeks spied a pile of boxes just down the hallway.

"What's this boy? Huh?" He asked the mutt to no reply.

He moved towards the pile to inspect them for himself. There were 8 boxes in total, all with Kensi's telltale scrawl labelling them in permanent marker.

_Clothes_

_DVDs_

_Books_

_Clothes_

_Clothes_

_Shoes_

_Misc_

_MEEBS_

He ran a hand through his unkempt hair.

"Awesome." He mumbled sarcastically to himself, conflicted. He turned his back on the boxes and the implication and questions they posed. Kicking his shoes off as he crossed the threshold of his bedroom he stumbled towards the bed, stripping down to his boxers and face planted into the pillows.

* * *

><p>He woke the next morning not to an alarm or his phone but to the doorbell. Figuring it was just Kensi he didn't bother to make himself presentable as he shuffled to the door.<p>

He opened it wide and came face to face with a man in a delivery uniform.

"Delivery for Blye. Can you sign?" The young man shoved the electrical signature machine into Deeks' hand. He sounded bored, not in the slightest bit phased by Deeks' lack of attire.

"Ah, sure." Deeks sighed, signing the contraption and handing it back. He rubbed his eyes, trying to find clarity amongst his confusion.

"Where do you want the stuff?" Delivery guy stepped back to reveal a truck and another young man in a uniform with a pile of boxes on a trolley.

"Ah, just, just here." Deeks motioned to the living room, stepping back as the delivery guy and his partner started to bring in the spoils.

They left as quickly as they had arrived and Deeks fell to the couch and stared at the large pile of flat packed nursery furnishings currently adorning his living room.

"Awesome." He mumbled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, bit of a tense chapter here... **

**Thanks to all the amazing reviewers from last chapter: homegrownoregano, Foxy209, lovedanniruah, guesswhofern, Marta Kensi Deeks, katieisagleek, Lindy, bookdiva, Jammie13, mama's-broken-heart, ihearttiva, ****Horses-are-my-life, LaJoMechell, Jess26, Raderle, trashcan, Blue Tigress, JaspersMum, Sweetlilloz, JenRar, Rach, Andriana Dricks, fanficforyou, and the 4 guests. **

**You guys are amazing and so many of you left such long, lovely reviews! **


	13. Chapter 13

Deeks woke again some time later, having fallen back to sleep on the couch. He sat up groggily, wiping drool from his cheek.

"Charming." He mumbled to himself, squinting his eyes and grabbing his phone to check the time.

He was about to roll over and try to catch another hour or so when he heard something in the hall way. Sitting up to check the floor, he found Monty in his usual sleeping place. Deeks took in his surroundings, his service weapon was at his bed side in his room and his back up was in the safe there too.

Still clad in only his boxers, he stealthily moved into the kitchen and grabbed a knife before heading towards the source of the sound. The rustling continued as he approached. Knife raised he turned the corner, ready to attack only to find Kensi, dressed in holey sweatpants and one of his LAPD shirts, crouched down, rifling through the boxes.

"Kensi? What are you doing?"

She startled, losing her balance and toppling backwards onto the floor. Knife still in hand, Deeks rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?" He crouched beside her, a hand resting on her shoulders.

"As long as you don't stab me I'll be fine." She retorted, nodding her head to the blade.

"Ah, yeah, sorry." He put the knife down and sat back on his heels as Kensi repositioned herself to be sitting cross-legged.

"What are you doing?" He questioned again. "And what are you wearing?"

Kensi hung her head in embarrassment.

"I ah, packed all my clean clothes and brought them here the other night. I didn't have anything to wear today." She confessed.

"So were you planning on waking me or were you just going to sneak in, steal your clothes and tiptoe back out?"

"It's not technically stealing. They're my clothes." She evaded.

"So you weren't planning on waking me." He concluded.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "After yesterday… We need to talk but you also need sleep and theres all that stuff." She gestured toward the flat-pack filled living room. "I don't know what I was going to do."

He considered her for a moment and pursed his lips, trying to figure out his next move.

"Do you want to move the conversation to the living room?" He finally asked.

She nodded, looking slightly down trodden.

"Come on." He stood and extended his arms to her, pulling her up and leading her by the hand to the couch.

They sat next to each other for several minutes, similarly to how Deeks had sat a few hours earlier, staring blankly at the boxes before them.

"Yesterday…" Kensi began.

"Yesterday."

"I'm sorry. What I did was, it wasn't okay." She pushed out the apology.

"No, it wasn't okay. It was reckless and stupid Kens. I know you can handle yourself but, honestly? Going out there like that was selfish."

"I know. It's not just about me anymore." She conceded, head hanging down, eyes focused on the carpet.

"No, it's not just about you. But it's not just about Meebs either Kens. It's about me too. Meebs is my kid too. You know I trust you Kensi. I trust you more than anyone in the world. But in the same way that we're both gonna do everything we possibly can to keep our child safe when he or she is born we should be doing that now too."

Kensi was nodding, head still facing towards the ground, a tear leaked from her eye and drew a path down her cheek and onto the tip of her nose where it hung for a moment before falling to the floor.

She drew in an unsteady breath.

"You're right. You're right. I'm really sorry."

"Hey," He reached out, splaying a hand across her shoulder blades and rubbing up and down. "Don't cry. It all worked out in the end. But just, please, if you ever feel like you need to do something like that again, talk to me? Even if I can't convince you not to, I can at least have your back."

"I swear Deeks, it won't be happening again." The tears were starting to flow more steadily now as Deeks continued to rub her back. She brought her hands up to wipe at her eyes.

"Good. Now come here." The hand on her back wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest and she came willingly. She hugged him tightly in return, burying her head in his shirt and letting the fabric soak up her tears.

"God, why can't I stop crying." She muttered, pulling back and whipping at her eyes roughly. Deeks laughed softly.

"I think you've got a pretty good excuse Kens. Don't worry, I won't tell the guys." He promised. She cracked a watery smile at him as the tears finally began to ebb. "So, where'd all this come from?" Deeks gestured to the furniture in front of him.

"While you were on the case, I, uh, I might've gotten carried away with the baby stores online."

"You were nesting." He accused.

"What? No. It's just stuff we need and I saw a good sale online on a crib and then I just figured I'd get it all at once." She defended.

"Is that right? Then why is your entire wardrobe sitting in cardboard boxes in my hallway?"

She flattened her lips into a straight line, unwilling to admit he was right.

"You're totally nesting!" He ribbed, giving her a few gentle pokes to her side that elicited a giggle from her mouth.

"So what if I am?" She challenged, wiggling to get away from his attacking fingers.

"Why is it all here?" He stopped his assault and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and turning his head to look at her.

She shrugged.

"Well we said that we'd discuss the whole living arrangements thing when you got back but there was that sale I mentioned…" She hedged.

"Ah, right. The sale." He humoured patronisingly.

"Yeah, the sale. And Monty couldn't sleep at my place without you so I was here anyway and I just figured I'd get it delivered here." She stood from the couch, using his leg to push herself up, and began looking through her purchases.

"Monty, sure." His shit-eating smirk was endearing and infuriating. "So, does this mean you'll be needing a change of address form at work?"

"It means that your spare room is a lot less cluttered than mine and that your place is bigger and probably the better option between our two apartments. At least until we figure ourselves out and maybe find a new place?" She suggested timidly, running her hand along the box that held the crib and looking up at him from under her eyelashes.

He grinned at her. "Sounds good to me."

"But the lease at my apartment is still current for another two months."

"Good. We'll need that time to pack up all the stuff you've hoarded over the past however many years." He joked, getting up from the couch too and moving so he was standing in front of her. "Do you think we can convince Sam and Callen to help?"

"I don't know but I'm pretty sure Uncle Callen and Uncle Sam could be easily swayed into doing pretty much anything for their new niece or nephew." She smirked. He returned her smile with a grin of his own.

"I like the way you think Blye."

She placed a hand on his chest and leant up to kiss his cheek.

"Come on Daddy Deeks, help the mother of your child drag these boxes down the hall so she can start setting up the nursery." She patted his chest twice with her palm before picking up a canvas toy box and making her way down the hall way.

The grin on Deeks' face was ear to ear as he picked up the crib box and followed behind his girlfriend.

* * *

><p>Kensi pulled her SRX up at the boat shed. Sam and Callen were following a lead while Deeks brought a witness in. The witness had been deemed as not a threat and Hetty had suggested that she join her partner at the boat shed for the interview. She'd been glad to escape the mission and jumped at the opportunity.<p>

She opened the door and pulled the lever to roll her seat back. Deeks had made fun of her at first when she started moving the seat back and forth as she got in and out of the car but at thirty weeks, her swollen belly was hard to manoeuvre around the steering column.

She opened the door to the boat shed and entered, opening her mouth to call out to her partner when she heard his voice ring through the room.

"Did you braid Lori's hair?" His voice was softer than usual.

"Uh huh! My mommy helped. When will she be back?" The voice of a little girl responded and Kensi stopped in her tracks. As stealthily as she could with her protruding stomach she pushed herself against the wall and peaked her head around to spy on the pair.

Deeks was sat on the couch and a girl who looked to be around three sat next to him, a baby doll in her hand.

"My friends Sam and Callen have gone to get her." Deeks assured the young blonde child. "She'll be here soon. You know, I was thinking, Lori looks very pretty with her braids. Is she all dressed up for a reason?"

"We were just about to go to a tea party!" The little girl announced. "But then we had to come here." She finished dejectedly.

"Oh, that's a shame. She was all ready and everything." Deeks sympathised. "But you know, I think we might be able to have the tea party anyway. What do you think? We can have the tea party while we wait for your mommy to return."

"Really?"

"Absolutely! You know, I have a very good friend, who's very very pretty who I'm sure would love to join our tea party. Do you think I could invite her?" He asked.

"How very very pretty is she?" The girl asked skeptically.

"She's almost as pretty as you."

"What's her name?" The girl asked, still weighing whether she wanted to invite this friend to their party.

"Her name is Kensi."

"That's a really pretty name. I think she should come! When can she get here?" The girl's voice changed from skeptical to excited at the prospect of another playmate.

"Hey Kens! You gonna join us in here?"

Kensi pulled herself out of her hiding spot, looking amused and slightly sheepish at being caught out.

"How long have you known I was here?" She questioned her partner as she approached the couch.

"I heard you closing the car door." He confessed, grinning.

Choosing to ignore the fact that she'd been caught spying she carefully crouched down in front of the little girl on the couch, using the coffee table to help stabilise herself.

"Hi, I'm Kensi. What's your name?" She introduced.

"I'm Jessica and this is Lori." The youngster introduced, thrusting her doll towards Kensi.

"Hi Jessica, hi Lori. I heard Marty mention something about a tea party? I love tea parties. Do you think I could join you?"

"Yeah! Marty was just going to get it ready, weren't you?" Jessica turned wide brown eyes to the man in question.

"I was. I might need to steal Kensi away for a bit to help me though. Is that okay?"

Jessica seemed to consider it for a moment before she nodded her approval. Deeks motioned his head towards the sink in the corner, a silent request for Kensi to follow him. He was three steps away when Kensi called out to him, her voice had a slightly anxious tone to it.

"Ah, Deeks?"

"Yeah, you okay?" He turned back towards her. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"I ah, I need a hand up."

He laughed at her and she scowled as he returned to stand in front of her, offering both his hands.

"It's not funny." She sighed as he tugged her up.

"Whatever you say."

"So, what's going on?" Kensi asked in hushed tones when the pair were standing in the kitchenette. Deeks was pulling three cups down from the cabinet while Kensi was filling a plastic jug with water from the faucet.

"Jessica is Major Carter's daughter. She'd been staying with her uncle. After the threat on the Major's life she refused to come in until Jessica was in protective custody. Sam and Callen are on their way to pick up the Major now." Deeks explained.

"You're good with her." Kensi complimented.

He smiled at her in response. "Ready for tea Miss Blye?" His British accent was horrendous.

"I do believe I am Mr. Deeks." Hers was much worse however. They were both laughing when they returned to the table. They sat and Jessica began assigning back stories for them.

When Callen and Sam walked in with Major Carter almost an hour later Deeks was sat on the floor, Kensi and Jessica on the couch above him, using elastic bands to tie his hair into little tufts.

Upon seeing her mother, the hair parlour was forgotten and Jessica ran over and embraced her.

Deeks looked up at Kensi from the floor. "It's gonna hurt getting these out, isn't it?" He winced.

"Yup. But if worse comes to worst we can just cut the hair."

He scowled at her.

"I'll help you take them out. But not before we document this." She pulled out a phone and snapped a picture quickly, pocketing it again before Deeks had time to grab it off her. He frowned dramatically at her. She poked her tongue out in response.

"Turn around Shaggy, I'll start pulling these out before Hetty shows up."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks to everyone who reviews not only this story, but also my one shots, on a regular basis. **

**Awesome reviewers from last chapter were: raccoonsmate4life, alex-russo-123, carolina526, LaJoyMechell, Lelo07, CharleyCarey, XoxMountainGirlxoX, Anonymus, ihearttiva, Blue Tigress, homegrownoregano, Jammie13, zats, Marta Kensi Deeks, Rach, fanficforyou, ceserina, Hoosier65, j09tiva, conservativegirl, and the two guests. You guys make my day! **


	14. Chapter 14

The bed shook as Kensi huffed and rolled over, turning to face her boyfriend who, until she'd disturbed him, had be blissfully, arrogantly, obnoxiously asleep.

"Go to sleep Kens." Deeks moaned gruffly, reaching a hand blindly for his bed partner, fingers finding her shoulder.

"I would love to Deeks but your kid is practicing their martial arts and using my uterus as the dummy." Her words were unmarred by the sleepy haze Deeks' voice held, betraying the complete and utter lack of shut eye she'd achieved so far.

Eyes still closed, Deeks ran his hand from her shoulder, down her arm, and rested it on her 31 week baby bump. Kensi felt the kick Meebs delivered right beneath Deeks' hand and watched his face as his eyes opened in wonderment.

"This will never not be amazing." He gushed.

Meebs delivered another swift blow and Kensi winced.

"How about you lie on the ground and I kick you in the bladder for an hour or two, see how amazing you think it is then." She scowled grumpily.

Deeks shuffled closer to her and ran his hand from her belly to her back, rubbing the tense muscles there that he knew were sore.

"How bad does it hurt?" He asked tenderly, feeling her start to relax under his ministrations.

"It's not that bad most of the time." She confessed. "I mean, every now and then the kid gets in a good one to my ribs or my cervix but mostly, it's fine just, I really really want to sleep. It doesn't help that there is no such thing as a comfortable position anymore." She groaned, letting her head fall to his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"Come on, sit up." He instructed, pulling away and situating himself so his back was against the headboard, legs outstretched, making a V. He patted the space he'd created for her, grabbing the pillow from her side of the bed and putting against his chest.

Kensi struggled up, exhaustedly climbing over into Deeks' waiting arms, letting him take all her weight as she leaned back agains him, the back of her head resting on his shoulder. He reached over to the bedside table, grabbing the body lotion she kept there, and squirted some on his hands. He nudged her night shirt — one of his old T-shirts — up and began rubbing firm but gentle circles around her stomach.

Kensi let out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of Deeks' hands soothing both her and the baby. She remembered the first time she'd asked him to do this after her OB/GYN had suggested it. She'd known every joke and comment about Monty liking belly rubs too before he'd even had a chance to open his mouth. She'd threatened him, telling him that if he couldn't do this for her without commentary she'd ask her mother to do it for her. Wisely, he'd zipped his lips and done as she'd asked and it'd become one of his favourite things to do.

He pressed his lips to her temple in a tender kiss.

"Hey Meebs. What ya doing in there? Huh? Already started training to be a mutant ninja assassin like your momma? I love you and your mom so much, did you know that? I'm so proud of you, of both of you." He pressed another kiss to Kensi's temple. "You two are the most important things in my world."

"I love you." Kensi interrupted Deeks' soliloquy, turning her face to kiss his cheek.

"Shhhhh, I'm trying to have a conversation with Meebs." He hushed. She grinned despite herself.

"Now, what was I saying before your mother so rudely interrupted me? That's right, I was about to say that you two are my world. No matter what happens, no matter where I am or how long I'm undercover, as long as I have you two I'll have a home."

Kensi's hand reached back around his head and tangled in his hair. He glanced down at her, her eyes glassy. He pressed another gentle kiss to her head and she tightened her grip in his hair.

"You know my dad used to say that to me?" her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Hmmm?"

"'My home is wherever you are Baby Girl.'" She quoted tearfully. Deeks' arms wrapped around her tighter for a moment before he continued rubbing at her belly and she continued talking.

"He was my best friend. You're gonna be that kind of dad Marty; you already are. My mom told me that my dad used to talk to me when she was pregnant, like you talk to Meebs."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This baby is going to have so many people who love it, such a huge family. Meebs is never going to want for a place to go to find refuge. He or she is going to have the so much more than either of us had."

Deeks pushed forward slightly, craning his neck so he could meet her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Just for the record, you're going to be a kick-ass mom Kensilina." He grinned against her cheek, his heart flipping at her responding smile. She sighed and leaned even further into him, closing her eyes and relaxing. A few minutes later she was finally asleep. Deeks checked the time, it was close to three in the morning. His hands on her stomach slowed and he pulled down her shirt, leaning back against the wall and closing his own eyes.

* * *

><p>"Deeks, sit down. I swear to god if you don't shut up…" Kensi seethed as she sat in the waiting area outside the birthing classroom.<p>

"But there are so many options Kens! And you picked the most boring." Deeks pulled six pamphlets off the wall and brought them over to her, sitting in the hard plastic chair next to her to appease her, if only slightly. "Look at this, HypnoBirthing, it says here it teaches you how to self-hypnotise for a 'calm, serene, and comfortable birth'. Or there's the movement-awareness Alexander Technique."

"Deeks," She warned.

"BirthWorks will teach you to have faith in your body." He handed her the pamphlet excitedly, completely ignoring her exasperation.

"I already have faith in my body." She snapped.

"Birthing from Within, Parental Yoga, there's even Lamaze, which will help you learn to trust your inner wisdom." He quoted.

"Right now my inner wisdom is telling me I picked the wrong man to father this child." She deadpanned.

He ignored her wisecrack and barrelled on.

"All these options and you picked an ordinary, run of the mill, hospital provided couples birthing class."

"You're right Deeks, I did choose the wrong class." She relented.

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.

"I should've signed up for the women-only class."

"Ouch Ken, that stung." He raised a hand to his heart in faux pain. "And to the father of your child, no less." He reached out and stroked her stomach. "Mommy's cranky today, isn't she Meebs?"

"I'm not cranky." She grabbed his hand from her stomach and tried to push it back into his lap. Instead Deeks twined his fingers with hers and rested their joined hand on the arm of her chair. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, hovering for a moment.

"You're totally cranky." He chuckled in her ear as she glared across the room.

"I'm not. You're just incredibly annoying today." She argued but didn't pull away from him.

"You hear that Meebs? Hear the way she talks about your daddy?"

"Deeks." She growled. He probably had a point about her being cranky, not that she'd readily admit that, ever.

"Okay, I'm sorry." He squeezed her hand. "People are heading in." He motioned to the now open classroom door and stood. He offered her his other arm and tugged her up, leading her into the room with a hand on the small of her back.

They sat on the floor amongst 13 other young couples and listened to the instructor as she droned on about the importance of breast feeding and listed ways to cope with the pain of labour. By the time she started guiding them through some breathing exercises Kensi was frustrated and it was written over her face.

"What's up?" Deeks asked curiously, as he sat behind her, supporting her weight.

"This is a waste of time." She huffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Kensi started, her voice louder than she expected it to be and several couples turned to face them. She lowered her voice again. "I mean, I know all this stuff, I've read it all. And this breathing exercises are a load of crap and there is no way in hell I'm pushing something the size of a watermelon out of my body without some kind of pain relief."

"Okay, so let's get out of here" Deeks suggested.

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"There's a class going on and we're right in the middle of the room. We can't just leave Deeks." She sighed.

Deeks grinned and slapped her leg playfully with his hand before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell.

He swiped a finger across the screen and brought it up to his ear.

"Hello?" Everyone's eyes were suddenly on the pair as Deeks pretended to answer his phone. "Oh yeah? Sorry. We'll be right there." He pulled the phone down from his ear, barely containing his triumphant smirk as he pretended to lock it.

"Sorry Babe, we gotta go. That was your brother. He showed up at the house early and doesn't have a key." He was saying it to Kensi but his voice was loud enough for the whole room to hear. Before Kensi could respond he was on his feet and pulling her up.

"So sorry!" He apologised to the instructor as he lead his girlfriend out the room. "Sorry." He said again, this time to the other couples.

Kensi scrunched her nose but smiled at his cover. "My brother huh?"

Deeks shrugged. "Well it got us out of there, didn't it?"

"It did." Kensi conceded.

"What do you want to do instead?" He listed into her, bumping her shoulder with his own as they walked to the car.

"I'd kill for a burger." Her eyes widened comically as she expressed the sentiment.

Deeks chuckled.

"I knew it. You were totally cranky but it was just cause you were hungry. You want to drive?" They were coming up to the passenger side of the car now.

Kensi rammed him with her shoulder for his comment about her mood but shook her head.

"Not really." She tossed him the keys and he opened her door, leaning down to kiss her belly.

"Let's go feed you and your Momma, Meebs."

* * *

><p>The front doorbell rung and Julia nudged Kensi away from the pot she was mashing potatoes in.<p>

"Go get the door. It's probably Marty." She encouraged, taking the masher from her daughter's hand and pushing her out of the kitchen.

Kensi had spent the better part of the last week with her mother. With the suspension adding to her time off, Kensi's maternity leave had started at 32 weeks. The first day of her maternity leave was spent at home, putting the finishing touches on the nursery she and Deeks' had been slowly putting together over the past month. When that was done she'd spent some time at her old apartment packing more of her things, most of which she'd probably have to put in storage until she and Deeks found a bigger house. By the fourth day Kensi was going mad. She'd taken Monty on so many walks that the dog had refused to get up and follow her when she called him to the door. Finally Kensi had started visiting her mother on a daily basis just for something to do and Julia had insisted on giving her some basic cooking lessons.

This led them to tonight's Thanksgiving Dinner. While Deeks had been wrapping up a case, Julia had set Kensi to work in the kitchen with her.

She opened the front door and Deeks strode in past her, waiting in the entry way as she closed the door and flicked the lock.

"Hey." She greeted, turning and smiling at him.

"Hey." He replied in turn, grinning back.

"How was work?"

"We caught the bad guys, the city is saved."

"My hero." She gushed sarcastically. She stepped toward him and laid a hand on his chest, pushing up on her toes to kiss his cheek. She wobbled slightly, her belly pushing into his stomach making it hard for her to reach him. He placed a hand on her back to steady her and leaned his head down, catching her lips with is own before they could make it to his cheek.

"You good?" He asked as their lips parted and her heels fell back to the floor. He didn't let her get far though, wrapping his arms as far round her as her protruding belly would allow.

"I'm good." She confirmed.

"Good." He placed another kiss to her forehead and dropped to his haunches in front of her. "Are you good too Meebs?" He kissed her belly and pressed his ear towards the bump. "Oh, is that right? I see. We'll have to do something about that."

Kensi rolled her eyes as he continued his conversation with the unborn child.

"Really? And has your Mom been behaving? No?"

She flicked his ear and he raised his face, throwing a wink up to her.

"If _you_ don't start behaving you won't be getting any of the Thanksgiving dinner I made." She threatened.

He pushed himself up from the floor so he was standing again.

"You mean the Thanksgiving dinner your mother made that you just _helped_ with." He put air quotes around the word helped.

"Actually, no. I made it, she helped me." She countered, poking his shoulder with her index finger and turning to walk into the kitchen again.

Deeks was hot on her heels.

"_You,_ Kensi Blye, made dinner? Is it safe?" He turned to where Julia was standing in the kitchen and directed his next question at her. "Is it edible?"

Julia laughed.

"It's great. Why don't you help me take some of these plates to the table."

"Sure." He agreed. "You look lovely this evening by the way." He complemented, kissing her on the cheek as he passed her to pick up the small turkey.

"You found a good one Kensi." Julia blushed as she walked past her daughter.

"Do you want him? The shelter wouldn't take him back." Kensi joked, following her mother and her boyfriend to the dining room. Deeks was just putting the turkey down in the centre of the table when Kensi stopped and scrunched up her face, a hand flying to her stomach while the other gripped tightly to the back of a chair.

Deeks had looked up and his witty retort died on his lips. He strode the two steps over to her and placed a hand on her back.

"You okay?" His brow furrowed with worry and Julia moved to stand on Kensi's other side, looking just as concerned.

Kensi let out a deep breath that she hadn't meant to hold and released the chair from her death grip.

"I'm good." She assured.

"Kens…"

"Really, it was just a Braxton Hicks contraction. I promise."

"Are you sure? Should I call the doctor?" Deeks worried.

"I'm sure. I just need to sit down and have some water, that's all."

Deeks quickly pulled out a chair and Kensi sat.

"I'll grab the water." Julia went back into the kitchen.

Deeks sat in the chair next to Kensi's. His face was still tinted by worry.

"We're fine. I promise. Dr. Steindle said that the Braxton Hicks contractions will become more painful and more frequent the closer the the due date I get. I only have to call her if there's more than four in an hour and this is the first one." She promised.

"Okay." He exhaled.

"You better be calm when I do go into labour. I'm not going to be nearly as calm and level headed." She half-joked.

He grinned at her as Julia returned with her water.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine Mom. Just fine. Deeks, cut the turkey." She instructed

* * *

><p>Four hours later Kensi was dozing on Deeks' shoulder on the couch, the meal hadn't killed them and Deeks had even had to admit it tasted pretty great. He might not be willing to let her loose in his kitchen alone but he'd definitely at least try her next culinary creation.<p>

"You should take her home." Julia smiled at the two on the couch. She and Deeks had been talking for the past half hour as Kensi drifted in and out.

"Yeah," He agreed. "Thank you for having us over, for keeping her from going stir crazy on maternity leave."

"My pleasure. Don't worry, when that little baby arrives she'll have plenty to keep her busy." Julia assured him.

"And me too no doubt." Deeks agreed but his face fell momentarily.

"You're going to be a great father Marty. Kensi's gonna doubt herself. She already does a little. She won't admit that to you or to me, probably not to anyone. But she has no misgivings about you. And neither do I, about either of you." Julia said. "Now take her home before she's too far gone to make it to the car."

Deeks laughed.

"Yeah, I can't exactly carry her."

"I heard that." Kensi's voice was muffled as she pressed her face into his shoulder.

"Come on Princess." Deeks grinned, helping her up and wrapping an arm around her to keep her stable as Julia lead them to the door.

"Thanks again Julia. For everything." Deeks reached out the hand that wasn't around Kensi's waist and squeezed Julia's.

"You're most welcome."

Deeks leaned forward just enough to kiss his girlfriend's mother's cheek.

"Night." He said.

"Night Mom." Kensi reached out and hugged her mother, Deeks' hand a constant, steady presence on her back.

"Good night. Drive safe. I'll see you tomorrow Kensi." Julia waved them off as they made their way down the drive way. She watched as Deeks opened the door and helped Kensi with her seat belt once they arrived at the car. Deeks turned to her and waved. Julia waved back and closed the door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey all!**

**So there's probably only going to be 3 more chapters of this I think. There are a couple of sequels in the works as well as a new story and some one shots I'm going to be working on once this is finished.**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews last chapter from: homegrownoregano, zats, Marta Kensi Deeks, trombonegirl85, conservativegirl, Rach, Tilly33, Jammie13, mama's-broken-heart, LaJoyMechell, Jess26, ac28, Littlemissjellybabies, Lyssa, livingandthriving, Hoosier65, Beepmybanana, Adriana Dricks, fanficforyou, and the 4 guests!**

**To those who were wondering, the Major Carter thing wasn't a reference. It was just a coincidence! **


	15. Chapter 15

Deeks woke up to his alarm at seven and rushed to turn it off before it could disturb his sleeping girlfriend. He thumbed the phone screen blindly and glanced to where Kensi was cuddled against a pillow, her back to him. He leaned over gently, lightly kissing her shoulder.

She groaned and awkwardly turned her head to face him.

"Sh, go back to sleep." He sat up in the bed and leaned down to kiss her temple.

"M'kay." She muttered, turning her head back and curling up as much as she could with her 37 week pregnant belly in the way.

He grinned and rolled out of the bed, headed for the shower. When he emerged fifteen minutes later, hair damp but dressed for the day, Kensi had stolen his pillow and was holding it to her face as she slept. This was the forth pillow she'd commandeered. She had one between her legs to help with circulation, one supporting her belling, one under her head and the new one cuddled to her face. Deeks shuffled around the room, finishing getting ready before he dropped to a crouch beside the bed, putting his head level with Kensi's.

"Kensi?" He whispered to her. She reached a hand out looking for him and all but slapped him in the face.

"Deeks?" She mumbled, her hand finding his shoulder as she pried one eye open to look at him blearily.

"Hey Princess, I'm heading in." His hand reached forward and brushed some hair behind her ear.

"M'kay. See you tonight?" She asked around a yawn, closing her eyes again.

"Yeah. See you tonight." He agreed. He moved to stand up but the hand on his shoulder bunched in his shirt and held him down.

"Hey." She protested.

"What?"

She pulled him forward by his shirt and turned her face to him and pouted. He chuckled, getting the hint, and bent down, pressing his lips to hers.

"I like sleepy Kensi." He commented against her mouth.

"Mmm." She kissed him again. "Have a good day." She mumbled, turning her head to burrow into his pillow again.

"Bye Kens." He hopped his way down the bed a little so he could kiss her bump. "Bye Meebs." He whispered before standing from his haunches and making his way to work.

* * *

><p>Barely three hours later he was at his desk fielding calls on the team's most recent case when his cell vibrated with a text from Kensi.<p>

K: _I'm bored._

D: _When did you get up?_

K:_ Like, an hour and a half ago._

D: _And you're bored already?_

K: _Well, the nursery is all done and Mom's gone away for a few days, I've already taken Monty for a walk and there's nothing on TV_. _What's happening at OSP?_

D: _We've got a case. I've been making calls for the past hour._

K: _Maybe I could come in and help._

D: _Kensi. No. _

When a reply didn't come through for over a minute Deeks grabbed his phone and hit call.

"_Yes_?" Kensi answered casually.

"You're not coming into OSP." Deeks ordered.

"_Excuse me?_" Her heckles were up immediately.

Deeks backed down only slightly, softening his tone.

"Kensi, we spoke about this, remember. Not just about you, about Meebs, about me, about trust? You're on maternity leave for a reason." He reminded.

She sighed heavily.

"_I know but…_"

"No buts." He interrupted.

"_Could you at least let me finish?_"

"Fine." He humored.

"_We technically agreed I just had to talk to you about it. And I won't be in any danger. I'll just drop by for a visit._"

"Kensi," He started to counter but was interrupted.

"_Just for an hour? I'll… I'll bring lunch for you, for the team. I won't come straight away, I'll get there at twelve, stay til one_." She bargained.

"We're in the middle of a case."

"_Still gotta eat_."

"We could be out in the field by twelve." He tried.

"_Then I'll just give lunch to Eric and Nell and wait until you get back._"

"How about," He negotiated, "You come in at twelve with lunch, and even if we're still in the field you leave by one?"

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment as she considered his proposal.

"_Done_." She agreed. "_I'll see you at twelve._"

"Maybe."

"_Okay, I'll maybe see you at twelve. Only two hours to go._"

"Bye Kens." He laughed into the phone.

"_Bye._" She chimed back.

"Everything okay with Kensi?" Sam asked as Deeks hung up his phone.

"Yeah, she's just restless, bored. She's not really the stay at home and do nothing type." Deeks rubbed his hand through his mop of hair.

"Don't we know it. Hey G, remember when she sprained her ankle and had to go on three weeks leave?" The SEAL asked his partner.

"Oh yeah. She was calling every thirty minutes for an update on the case. By the second week she'd managed to convince Hetty to put her on desk duty and by week three she was trying to get us into the gym to spar with her." Callen recalled.

Deeks grinned at the story, thoroughly unsurprised.

"Don't worry, she's got what, three weeks until her due date? Once the kid is born she'll have plenty to take up her time." Sam consoled.

The phone on Callen's desk rang and he answered. After a few monosyllabic replies he hung up.

"That was LAPD, they have our suspect in custody." Callen reported.

The three men grabbed their gear and headed out.

* * *

><p>Kensi climbed into her SRX at eleven, figuring by the time she grabbed lunch and made it to the mission it would be close enough to twelve. As she rolled the seat back and awkwardly climbed in a painful contraction hit her. She grabbed hold of the steering wheel, squeezing it as she rode the contraction out. It passed fairly quickly and she adjusted the seat forward again and closed the car door.<p>

A second contraction hit as she was waiting in line at the diner. She winced, breathing through it, and took a step forward to place the team's order. She'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions on and off for a few months now but never this strong. Even so, she was still three weeks out from her due date and it wasn't until she got to four in less than an hour that she needed to worry. She shrugged it off, taking the food from the attendant and heading back to the car.

She'd barely made it into the car when the third contraction came and she was starting to get worried. Ten minutes later she was two minutes from the mission when a fourth contraction had her wincing at a red light. She checked the time on her watch, took a deep breath and turned the car around, heading for the hospital.

At the next red light she grabbed her phone from her bag to call Deeks only to find it dead.

"Shit." She swore, futilely pressing the power button in the hope that it'd simply malfunctioned and turned itself off. She threw the phone onto the passenger seat as the light turned green and continued on her way.

* * *

><p>"Hey, how was Kensi?" Deeks asked Nell as he came into ops just after three.<p>

"Huh?" Nell looked to Deeks confused.

"Kensi. Brown hair, brown eyes, about this tall," He gestured with his hand, "and this pregnant." He held his arms in front of his stomach, over-exaggerating the size of Kensi's belly.

"I haven't spoken to her today." Nell shrugged.

"She said she was going to come in for an hour to visit, bring lunch." He brow furrowed in concern. " 'Scuse me a sec." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped out of ops.

He had five missed calls from a number he was unfamiliar with. He called Kensi's phone three times and each time was sent to message bank. He swore and was just about to dial the unknown number when Hetty called up to him from her office.

"Mr. Deeks, I just received a call on the missions private line. I suggest you make your way to the hospital. Kensi is in labour."

Deeks eyes went wide and he sprinted down the stairs. He turned in a panicked circle at his desk, trying to remember what he had to bring with him. He did a mental checklist: phone, keys, wallet.

"Mr. Deeks," Hetty's stood at the end of Sam's desk looking at the flustered detective. "Go. Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will be happy to bring along anything you need later. Go be there for your partner."

"Yes. Right. Labour, baby. Kensi. I'm, I'm gonna be a father." He muttered to himself, stopping in his tracks and going wide-eyed with wonderment.

"Mr. Deeks!" Hetty pulled him out of his reverie.

"Okay, hospital, leaving now."

* * *

><p>Deeks practically ran into the nurse's station at the hospital's maternity wing.<p>

"My partner, I mean girlfriend, ah Kensi, Kensi Blye she's in labour." He huffed to the nurse, out of breath from running up the stairs, the elevators having been taking too long for his liking.

"And you are?" The nurse behind the desk was unperturbed by his slightly disshelved and flustered state.

"I'm the father. Marty Deeks."

The nurse casually hit some letters on the keyboard.

"Ah, I don't have anyone by that name that I can see."

"Blye. As in bye, with an L. B-L-Y-E." He spelled out, less than patient.

"Ah, yes. Kensi Blye. Was admitted at eleven-forty and it says here she gave birth about twenty minutes ago." The nurse smiled up at him. "Congratulations."

"She already had the baby? But I wasn't here. Where is she? I need to see her." Deeks' hands were splayed on the desk and he was practically shaking.

The nurse typed at the keyboard again.

"Ah, I'm sorry sir but there was a complication." She frowned slightly.

"Complication? What kind of complication? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"

"Your baby is completely healthy however Miss Blye has been moved to an operating room." She told him calmly.

"An operating room? Why? What's wrong?"

"I can't disclose…" She began.

"I'm her next of kin. Check. Just tell me what's wrong." He demanded.

The nurse scanned the screen quickly before looking back up at Deeks.

"Miss Blye started to haemorrhage just after giving birth. It's bad but not terrible and the doctors will most likely be able to stop the bleeding shortly. In the mean time, I can take you to your baby." The nurse offered as a consolation.

"Yes. Please." He sighed, "I've just gotta…" He pulled out his phone and waved it at the nurse. She nodded and he quickly sent off a message to Hetty.

"Okay." He said, pocketing the phone again. The nurse smiled at him and stood from the desk, leading him down the hallway. His heart was racing, a combination of nerves, worry, and excitement. Tears were threatening to fall and his emotions were warring within him, worry for Kensi, relief for his child.

They entered the nursery viewing room and Deeks waited patiently as the nurse walked into the nursery itself. She passed four infants in blue hats and another two in pink hats before stopping and scooping up the seventh one in the row. Deeks watched her bounce slightly as she walked back out towards him.

Deeks rushed over the the door as she came through, holding the tiny infant.

"Congratulations Mr. Deeks. It's a..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First of all, I would like to apologise for not having this up on Tuesday. Uni got in the way. Secondly, I'm sorry it's shorter than my normal updates. Next chapter and the epilogue will most definitely be longer. Thirdly, I'm not completely sold on this chapter. It's partly filler and it's kind of jumpy and static, which kind of works given what's happening in it but still. I'm sorry. **

**Thank you to the amazing people who review all the time. Those amazing people from last chapter were: homegrownoregano, Tizza94, jmlane1966, Marta Kensi Deeks, gremlin2318, Littlemissjellybabies, MH96, Jammie13, Rach, Tilly33, LaJoyMechell, XoxMountainGirlxoX, beepbybanana, Honor, foxy209, zats, Andriana Dricks, Jess26, conservativegirl, JenRar, fanficforyou, Hoosier65, and the three guests. **


	16. Chapter 16

"Congratulations Mr. Deeks. It's a girl." The nurse carefully handed the slightly fussy baby to him and he held her gingerly, eyes wide with awe.

"Hey. Hi there Meebs." He whispered, awestruck at the tiny human sleeping in his arms. "I'm your Daddy." He bent his head down and kissed her forehead, just barely connecting with the delicate skin there. She settled at his voice, her face smoothing out and relaxing.

He swayed gently with the infant cradled tenderly in his arms. "Mommy's gonna be out soon," He glanced to the nurse and she nodded in confirmation. "She can't wait to see you. I'm sorry I wasn't here Meebs. But Mommy's gonna be okay. She has to be." He was saying it mostly for his own benefit at this point.

"Meebs. That's an interesting name." The nurse commented after Deeks stopped murmuring. He was running his finger down the baby's nose but looked up at the friendly woman.

"Ah, yeah. Just a nickname really."

"Did you and your partner decide on a name? We'd like to be able to put it on the birth certificate."

"Amirah. Amirah Martine Deeks." He said, his eyes drawn back down to his resting daughter. He couldn't seem to pry his gaze away from her for more than a couple of seconds at a time. "Do you have to take her back?" He asked nervously.

"She'll be due a feeding soon but you can do that if you like." A grin split Deeks' face and the nurse continued. "As soon as Miss Blye is settled and stable in her own room we'll move the crib in there. Until then. Amirah here is very healthy, even being born a few weeks early, so there should be no problem with you holding her as long as you like."

"If that's the case, I'll never let go." He said softly, more to the baby than in reply to the nurse. She smiled at him and patted his arm.

"You can take a seat in one of the arm chairs in here. Once Miss Blye is set up in her room we'll transfer Amirah there. I'll go get a bottle ready and you can feed her." The nurse left the room as Deeks walked over and sat down in the chair the she had gestured to.

With gentle hands Deeks stroked his fingers over the thin, dark hairs on Amirah's head. "You're a stunner, just like your mom." He drew in a deep breath and tears began to form in his eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you and your momma. I tried to be here, I came as soon as I heard but…" He straightened his shoulders slightly and tried to compose himself again. "But your mom is the strongest, most stubborn person I know and she's gonna be just fine. I promise."

The nurse came back with a bottle and a cloth and set the new father up to feed his daughter before slipping out again. Deeks made a note to get the nurse's name and thank her.

"You eat like your mom too." Deeks chuckled as Amirah guzzled the bottle like an expert. The little girl blinked as she happily fed. She was almost though when the nurse retuned.

"Miss Blye is out of surgery and is being moved to her own room now. Once you two have finished feeding there we'll get you straight to her."

"Thank you so much. I, I don't even know your name."

"Bridget." She replied.

"Thank you Bridget."

"Not a problem." She smiled in reply. "You're a natural."

"Ah, thanks." Deeks replied.

"Do you know how to burp her?"

"I think so." Deeks replied, placing the now empty bottle down on the arm of the chair and lifting Amirah up onto his shoulder, careful to support her head.

"If you need any help, let me know. We'll move you in with Miss Blye in about fifteen minutes."

Nurse Bridget walked back into the nursery and it wasn't long until Amirah let out a louder than expected burp, especially for an infant of her size.

"Definitely your mother's daughter." Deeks laughed, turning his head slightly so he could kiss his daughter's temple.

* * *

><p>Kensi fluttered her eyes open against the burning light. She was aware that her body hurt and not much else. It wasn't the first time she'd woken in the hospital after a case and she knew it probably wouldn't be the last. She closed her eyes against the lights that were hurting her vision for a moment, trying to assess her injuries, remember what happened. Her arms and legs all had full movement but she was sore. Unconsciously her hands reached down to her stomach and her eyes shot open.<p>

It came back to her in a sudden flash and she anxiously turned her head. There was nothing but a window on her right and she could hear her heart rate spiking on the monitor next to the bed as she turned to her left. Some of the tension drained out of her as she spotted exactly what she'd needed to see.

Sitting in a hard plastic chair, head thrown back, mouth open, Deeks was sleeping. And there, securely held to his chest was the tiny bundle of her child.

"Deeks." She called out to him, her voice gravelly and weak from the anaesthetic. It didn't matter though. His head shot up and his eyes opened immediately. Instead of looking at Kensi though, his focus was on the bundle in his arms.

"Hey Meebs. You're awake? Your momma's gonna be awake soon too. She's gonna melt when she sees you, yes she is." He cooed, his eyes flittered to his girlfriend briefly but his gaze quickly focused solely on his girlfriend when he realised she was looking at him.

"You're awake? Oh, thank god." He rushed from the chair, still tenderly cradling the child, and stood at her bedside. "Are you okay."

"Gimme." Was all she said, lifting her hands from her sides and reaching towards him.

Deeks laughed. "Can you shuffle over?"

Kensi sighed dramatically and slowly made a little room for him on the small hospital bed, wincing but not caring about the pain. Deeks sat down next to her and tenderly helped her cradle the baby against her chest. He put one arm around her back while the other helped her support the child's head.

"Kens, meet Amirah. Amirah, this is your momma. See, I said she'd be okay." He told the little girl, leaning over to kiss Kensi's temple as she gazed down at her daughter.

"Deeks, her eyes…" She whispered.

Deeks immediately fixed his gaze on Amirah again.

"What, what's wrong with them?" He asked, slightly panicked.

"They're exactly like yours." She said, still whispering.

Deeks relaxed again. "Yeah, they'll probably turn brown in a few months though. With her hair, and that nose, she's going to be the spitting image of you Kens. Gonna have to beat those boys off with her crazy ninja skills."

"I hope they don't change." Kensi murmured, leaning further into Deeks' side, eyes never leaving her new born.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here Kens. I wanted to be here, I didn't want you to be alone in this. I'm so, so sorry." He tightened his arm around her back and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against her temple.

"What happened? They hospital couldn't get through to you. I was worried." She ran a finger down Amirah's nose as she spoke, watching as the baby scrunched her face up.

"I was at LAPD in interrogation with a suspect. Phone service down there isn't that great, the interrogation room is in a dead spot so I never even got the calls. It wasn't until I got back to the mission that the voicemails even came through." He explained. "When Hetty told me you were here I rushed over but I was too late. You were in surgery. I can't even express how sorry I am that you had to go through all of that alone."

"It's okay Deeks."

"It's really not." He shook his head, still leaning against hers, and she felt a wet tear fall onto her cheek from his face.

She tore her gaze away from her slightly fussy daughter and turned her head to face her boyfriend as he pulled back from her and wiped his eyes.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm okay, Amirah's perfect. It was scary, but I'm a tough girl and Ami here is a tough girl and we made it. We're okay."

His head was still bowed with guilt.

"Deeks, look at me." She raised the hand that wasn't supporting Amirah's head and rested it on his scruffy cheek.

His eyes met her tired ones.

"It's okay. You're here now. I know you have no intention of leaving us. I know that you would've never missed this willingly. I love you." She leaned in and kissed him soundly. Amirah made a short cry and they separated, both going back to gazing lovingly at their baby as Kensi readjusted her slightly.

"Will I ever get sick of looking at her?" Kensi asked him.

"I haven't yet." He replied. "What happened? Nell said you never made it to ops with lunch."

"I had a few contractions this morning after you left. At first, I thought they were just more Braxton Hicks but they got longer and closer together really quickly. I was on my way to work with lunch when a fourth one hit and I just turned the car around and went to the hospital." She paused. "My car is going to smell like bad takeout for weeks." She groaned.

"I'll go down and get it out later. I messaged the team and they'll be swinging by to say hello soon. Sam said he'd stop by the house to grab your baby go-bag and the car capsule."

Kensi nodded.

"I… I tried to call you but my phone mustn't have charged last night because it was dead. So I gave the nurses' station your number and ask them to call. I expected it to take longer, you know? I mean, all the books tell you that your first labour is often really long so I thought you'd get the messages by around six at the latest and get here when you could. But then they told me I needed to start pushing only a few hours in and I gave them Hetty's direct line."

"I'm sorry." He apologised again, dipping his head down to kiss her shoulder.

"Not your fault." She shrugged slightly. "I remember them taking Ami over to clean her up and telling me to keep pushing and I glanced over at her and then they were rushing around, saying there was a problem." A tear escaped her eyes and Deeks hugged her tighter, muttering a string of apologies as he rested his lips on her neck.

"And then they were taking me to surgery." She choked out, turning as much as she could to bury her head in Deeks' chest. She sniffled and rubbed her face against his shirt, trying to dry her eyes. A few moments later she pulled back and drew in a breath.

"And then I woke up and you were here with Amirah and it's okay now."

"It's okay now." He repeated, kissing her temple and resting his head on her shoulder.

"I got to feed her." He murmured. "She's a guts, just like her momma."

Kensi scrunched her face at that but didn't deny it, nor could she hide the grin that erupted on her face.

"She's so perfect Deeks."

"Just like her momma." Deeks repeated. Kensi tilted her head to bump his.

"That was sappy."

"Doesn't make it untrue." He countered.

"Miss Blye, you're awake." Their little moment was interrupted by Kensi's doctor entering the room.

"Sorry, I should've told someone. We got a little distracted." Deeks said sheepishly, gesturing down to Amirah.

"I can see why." The Doctor Steindle grinned. "Well Daddy, do you mind holding your daughter while I check Mommy's stats?"

Deeks stood from the bed and Kensi reluctantly passed the baby to him.

"Watch her head Deeks." She warned.

"I got it." He assured her.

"Don't drop her. I swear, if you drop her…"

"Down Momma bear! Me and Ami got this." He took Amirah from Kensi's arms and swayed back and forth with her while the doctor gave Kensi a once over.

"Everything seems good Miss Blye. We'll keep you for a few days to make sure you and Amirah here are okay, ensure there's no infection and keep an eye on your blood pressure. You should cleared to leave before the end of the weekend." She assured them. "You won't be able to breastfeed for a few days until the anaesthetic is completely out of your system and I'll be prescribing some vitamins to help prevent anaemia from blood loss. All things considered, you and your baby are doing great."

"Thank you Doctor." Deeks said.

"Yeah, thanks. Can I have my baby back now?" Kensi asked eagerly, already reaching towards Deeks.

"Yes." Dr. Steindle laughed as Deeks carefully handed Amirah back to Kensi. "A nurse will be by shortly with her next bottle of formula and something for you to eat too Kensi. Visiting hours are almost over but I think there were some people in the waiting room hoping to come in and see you."

"Send them in." Deeks grinned, taking back his seat on the bed next to Kensi.

"Will do." Dr. Steindle left and a few minutes later Sam, Callen, Nell, and Eric entered.

"Congratulations." Nell smiled as she approached the bedside opposite to where Deeks sat. She peered down at the baby in Kensi's arms. "She's so beautiful." The analyst gushed.

Sam placed the bag and car capsule on the ground next to the abandoned plastic chair and approached the bed as Callen was shaking Deeks' hand.

"Congratulations you two." The team leader said.

"Okay, Uncle Sam wants a hold." Sam asserted, approaching where Deeks was sitting.

"If you drop her, Kensi will kill you." Deeks warned, gently helping Kensi transfer the baby into Sam's waiting arms.

"Heya gorgeous. What's your name? It better not be Meebs. I'll have to kick your parents' butts if it's Meebs." Sam coo-ed in a voice none of them expected from the SEAL despite knowing he had two children of his own.

"Amirah Martine. Ami for short." Kensi answered.

Sam took his eyes off Amirah and looked at Deeks.

"You did good."

"Thanks man." The grin is spread wide on Deeks' face and Kensi took his hand and intertwined their fingers together.

Sam handed Ami to Nell's eager arms and came round to Kensi, pulling her in for a one armed hug and kissing her cheek. "Congratulations Mama."

Kensi all but beamed as Sam stood up again, and she leaned into Deeks. The new parents sat and watched as Nell handed their daughter to a nervous-looking Eric. Ami started to fuss and cry and Eric was quick to pass her to Callen.

The team leader gently swayed with the infant for a few minutes as she cried before placing her back in her father's arms. Kensi hugged his bicep, resting her chin on his shoulder as he cradled the little girl who was starting to quieten down again. Kensi yawned and blinked her eyes slowly, starting to tire out despite only recently waking.

"Hetty's moved your planned paternity leave up but two weeks so we don't expect to see either of you at work for at least four weeks. And even then, your maternity leave covers you for six Kens, so I only want to see you there for a quick visit after Deeks comes back." Callen told the pair.

A knock came from the door and Nurse Bridget came in holding a bottle of formula followed by an orderly holding a tray of food.

"And that seems like our cue to leave. Call if you need anything." Callen instructed. There was another wave of congratulations and goodbyes from the team as they shuffled out the door.

Deeks moved Amirah back to Kensi as the Nurse handed her the bottle.

"Make sure you eat too before you fall asleep." Nurse Bridget reminded her as the orderly placed the food on the tray table next to the bed. "That's your responsibility, make sure she eats." She pointed at Deeks.

"Will do." He agreed before turning his attention back to his family. Family. The thought left him feeling giddy and proud and overwhelmed with love for the two girls now in his life. He turned and ducked his head, mindful of the feeding infant, bringing his lips to Kensi's and drawing a long kiss from her mouth.

"I love you Kens. You and Ami. You're my world."

Amirah let out a little cry from below them and Deeks pulled back.

"Sorry baby. Daddy was distracting me." Kensi cooed, putting the bottle back into Amirah's mouth. Once she was feeding happily again Kensi turned to him.

"We love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! Wow. It's been quite a journey! It's not quite over though. There is an epilogue in the works. It's going to be significantly longer than any chapter I've posted in this story so far (I'm estimating between 7,000-10,000 words). I've outlined most of it and it's 12 scenes that follow a bit of the journey of Meebs growing up, the furthering development of Kensi and Deeks' relationship and leads into a sequel that homegrownoregano and I are planning/have started. **

**Because it is so long and also because I have a number of assessments coming up before March 30, the epilogue won't be posted for 2 weeks at least. I'll be working on the scenes during my down time but I need to turn my focus onto my university work for a few weeks so I can pass and continue bringing you people the myriad of other fics (both one-shots and multi-chapters) I have in the works.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter 15. 30 reviews on one chapter! I was totally blown away. I hope this chapter did everything justice and made Deeks missing the birth slightly better, even if it was kinda really sappy. **

**Thanks for the reviews: homegrownoregano, Dashdoll4life, CharleyCarey, XoxMountainGirlxoX, Jammie13, Beepmybanana, Rach, guesswhofern, Littlemissjellybabies, livingandthriving, foxy209, LaJoyMechell, Marta Kensi Deeks, trombonegirl85, Andriana Dricks, Tilly33, zats, conservativegirl, Jess26, Sweetlilloz, jlnonnekes, Kathinka, ravenX92, Hossier65, raccoonsmate4life and the five guests. **


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